europe & islam

On 9/11 the West woke up to its ignorance of Islam and the state of Muslim public opinion - in the Middle East and the diaspora. This debate was our response. Initiated by London’s Goethe Institute, European cultural institutes, in conjunction with openDemocracy, have collaborated in a series of live debates featuring leading scholars of Islam from Europe and beyond on the relationship -historical, theological, social and political.
Friday 11th December

France: identity in question

Patrice de Beer, 11 December 2009
A "great debate" over French national identity is compromised by its politicised character and exclusionary discourse, says Patrice de Beer.
Tuesday 29th September

The jihadist style-journey: Germany’s election and after

Ben O'Loughlin and Mina Al-Lami, 29 September 2009
An al-Qaida militant calls on Germany to leave Afghanistan. But why does he wear a suit and tie? 
Thursday 25th June

Tariq Ramadan's project

Ehsan Masood, 25 June 2009
The Islamic thinker's "Radical Reform" reveals the skill and care that informs his search for influence 
Tuesday 23rd June

Islam, Europe, and history: across the frontiers

Martin Rose, 23 June 2009
The stories told by Europe of its encounters with the Islamic world are driven by proxy politics
Sunday 19th April

Is Rasmussen the right man?

Dennis Nottebaum, 19 April 2009
NATO and the EU should have listened to Erdogan
Wednesday 11th March

The Left and Hamas

Nadine Rosa-Rosso, 11 March 2009
Misreading resistance in the Middle East, the European Left risks consigning itself to irrelevancy
Wednesday 29th October

Anatolian Muslimhood: humanising capitalism?

Max Farrar, 29 October 2008

An influential Turkish network fuses faith and modernity in search of a new social order

Monday 7th July

British Muslims and the Muslim Council of Britain: the next decade

Yahya Birt, 7 July 2008
A rising generation will take Muslims' post-7/7 intellectual ferment forward, testing institutions
Tuesday 10th June

What do we actually know about Mohammed?

Patricia Crone, 10 June 2008
How new evidence and insight is enriching historical understanding of early Islam (archive)
Friday 7th March

Islam and ideology: the Pakistani connection

Izzud-Din Pal, 7 March 2008
The formation of Pakistan is a case-study in the argument over whether religion can be a variant of political ideology
Tuesday 4th March

Turkey’s “Islamic reform”: roots and reality

Mustafa Akyol, 4 March 2008
A group of theologians in Ankara is filtering early Islamic texts in light of modern reason...is this "reformation"?
Friday 22nd February

Sharia: practice of faith, politics of modernity

Sami Zubaida, 22 February 2008
The theology and history of Islamic law are important, but more must be known about its practice
Thursday 14th February

Multicultural citizenship and the anti-sharia storm

Tariq Modood, 14 February 2008
When a careful lecture on legal pluralism is drowned in prejudice, it’s time to restate the principles of a shared civic space

Islamic law in a secular world

Roger Scruton, 14 February 2008
An argument over sharia highlights the difference between Christian and Muslim visions of law
Wednesday 13th February

Rowan Williams: sharia furore, Anglican future

Theo Hobson, 13 February 2008
England's leading churchman exposes a larger national-identity crisis
Tuesday 12th February

Rowan Williams and sharia law

Tina Beattie, 12 February 2008
"Dumb down" or be damned? When a debate about religion and law is hijacked by fury, everyone loses

The Other’s new face: Austria, the Habsburg empire and Islam

Paula Sutter Fichtner, 12 February 2008
Two great empires and faiths in decades-long confrontation. But as conflict receded, so the vision of the enemy changed...
Thursday 20th December

The end of postmodernism: the “new atheists” and democracy

Tina Beattie, 20 December 2007
The science-religion "war" is dust. The real argument is over power and justice
Thursday 25th October

Secularism confronts Islam

Olivier Roy, 25 October 2007

The debate about Muslims and the west must connect ideas to living realities

Thursday 18th October

Muslim liberals: epistles of moderation

Faisal Devji, 18 October 2007

A letter to Christian leaders reveals Muslim liberals' intellectual vacuity

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