Muslims in Europe

This report reviews and categorizes the enormous corpus of knowledge produced by American academic and policy institutions about U.S. relations with the Middle East and other Islamic actors in the international arena. The report identifies five epistemic communities – conservatives, neoconservatives, realists, liberals and the left – and analyzes their discourses and policy recommendations. Finally, the policies that these epistemic communities recommended are evaluated and assessed. The author recommends a mixed-paradigmatic approach that will not only make the United States more effective in the Middle East but also underscore its continuing relevance to the security and the stability of the region and the global order.

How does Christianity explain the existence of the two rival Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Islam?  What place does it allow in Christian society for Jews and Muslims?  The responses to these questions are many; this brief article examines a few prominent examples.  Rather than a survey of Christians’ attitudes towards Jews (or Judaism) and Muslims (or Islam), it examines how Christian law accommodated Jews and Muslims as residents of Christian societies and at the roles that Christian thinkers assigned to Judaism and Islam in a Christian scheme of history.  The emphasis is on a few salient examples from the fourth century (when Christianity obtains social and intellectual predominance in the Roman Empire) to the nineteenth (when Christianity loses that predominance in Europe).

The political reality of many countries in the Muslim World is untenable and reforms and change is absolutely necessary. This article argues that use of force and violence for political change is making things worse as one can witness in Syria and Iraq. The article advances a Qur'ānic perspective on the desirability of peace as a goal and peaceful means as instruments of change. The article acknowledges that the Qur'ānic sanction for use of force to defend religious freedom prcludes the advocacy of pacifism but nevertheless the article does make a strong case for privileging peace over use of force.

This essay draws on Immanuel Kant’s concept of enlightenment as an escape from self- imposed ignorance and argues that a similar concept of enlightenment can be understood within the Muslim context as escape from self-imposed jahiliyyah, which is understood as fear to exercise reason publicly. The article advocates for ijtihad, is critical of Taqlid, and invokes Islamic sources to invest confidence in contemporary use of reason for interpreting Islam.

This paper examines the short-lived rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt after the Arab Spring and argues that the Muslim Brotherhood had abandoned Islamist values without embracing democratic ideals. It identifies a pathway to reform for the Brotherhood  if it is serious about democratization. The paper insists that the failure of democracy in Egypt is not a judgement on the compatibility of Islam and democracy.

This book addresses questions surrounding the constructions of space, culture, society, identity and representation. The geography of cinema extends beyond the screen, director and audience, to include the wider industrial and political complex of the cultural economy. In this sense, culture can be viewed as an economic commodity set within the broader frame of globalization and postmodernism. A cinematic world occupies a territory between our citys streets, the Cineplex, the TV set, and our geographical imagination and identity. These contexts invite inquiries into the production, distribution, exhibition, and consumption of film as well as global cinema, hapticalities of viewing, critical political economies, and cinematic ethno-graphies. This collection provides unique and eclectic insights into the exciting and emerging subfield of film geography.

The term ‘Halal’ is becoming more visible: as an ingredient brand, a label and as a seal of approval. However, it is debatable whether current branding approaches encapsulate the full nature and spirit of what Halal is and means. The implications being that concepts of Halal will be changed and even eroded – affecting Muslims, brands and businesses.

H-Net Book Channel Teaching Essay on how to teach race in the medieval period, with examples from art history, history, literature, and religious studies. 

Now live on H-Net Book Channel here:  https://networks.h-net.org/h-net-book-channel  and here: https://networks.h-net.org/node/109065/pages/1348052/teaching-essay-race-european-middle-ages

This article offers the first analysis of the Rolin Madonna (ca. 1435) in relation to Jan van Eyck’s trip to Castile and Granada (1429). The space and the architectural typology in the painting reveal Hispanic influences which are only explicable through first-hand experience by the artist. These elements were not fully understood by his Flemish peers, who adapted them to local use. This study allows us to re-position Van Eyck and Chancellor Rolin’s interests in line with the plurality of artistic models and the tensions between the existing hegemonies and the multiculturalism of the major global powers during the Early Modern period. //
Este artículo analiza por primera vez la Madonna Rolin (ca. 1435) en relación con el viaje de Jan van Eyck a Castilla y Granada (1429). El espacio y la tipología arquitectónica del cuadro denotan influencias hispanas explicables únicamente a través de la experiencia in situ del artista, elementos que sus colegas flamencos no comprendieron y readaptaron a sus usos locales. Como consecuencia, esta investigación permite resituar los intereses de Van Eyck y del canciller Rolin en línea con la pluralidad de modelos y con las tensiones entre hegemonías y multiculturalidad de las grandes potencias europeas en la temprana Edad Moderna.

Le présent rapport présente les enjeux que suppose aujourd’hui la présence musulmane en Europe. Il aborde quatre grands domaines: les processus organisationnels en cours au sein des communautés musulmanes; les questions d’éducation et de leadership; les profils juridiques et la gestion politique des musulmans; la cohabitation comme choix de vie commune. Des propositions sont ensuite formulées sur la base des conclusions de l’étude. Auteur.e.s : Felice Dassetto, Brigitte Maréchal & Silvio Ferrari.

This special issue draws on work from young scholars concerned with the impact recent waves of Islamophobia has affected the lives of Muslims in Europe. Isa Blumi authored the introduction and chapter one entitled:
“Nothing New: Islamophobia by Default in Postwar Europe”.
Works in this issue are drawn from conference held in January 2017 in Istanbul, organized by Dr. Mehmet Hacisalihoglu and supported by IRCICA.

http://www.yildiz.edu.tr/media/files/etkinlikler/islamophobia-program.pdf


Contributions in special issue include articles by:
Ali Hüseyinoğlu
Peter Polak-Springer
Elena Lukinykh
Leyla Yıldırım
Ali Çaksu

When it comes to hip-hop, France is particularly noteworthy since it has the second largest market for rap music production and consumption in the world, following the U.S. This paper proposes that the discourse of French rap music both reflects and influences the construction of hybridized black-inflected identities, particularly among minority youth living in diaspora; i.e., physically separated and widely dispersed from their ancestral homelands on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. In this regard, diasporic French hip-hoppers are involved in a complex process of reconfiguring and synthesizing relevant idioms and vernaculars found not only in global hip-hop and their “native” culture, but also in their “host” country of France. Drawing on framing theory, this paper investigates both French-African and French-Muslim frames and related anti-racist perspectives articulated in French rap music, which have been socially and cognitively organized into diasporic discourses. Research questions addressed include the following: How have global flows of people, ideas, and artifacts, impacted hip-hop’s origins and metamorphosis in France? In what ways have the African and Muslim diasporas influenced French hip-hop? What social and demographic factors have encouraged diasporic youth to adopt black-inflected identities tied to hip-hop? This paper analyzes a wide variety of sources, including the lyrical content of selected rap songs recorded by North and West African Muslims, living in France.

This article provides a historically informed analysis of the contemporary incorporation of Islam and Muslims into an idea of common – national – membership in the United States and Britain. It shows that there is a current movement towards synthesis between religious and national identities by Muslims themselves, and explores the ways in which this synthesis is occurring within rich and dynamic public spheres in societies that have historically included and incorporated other religious groups. The authors argue that both countries are wrestling with the extent to which they accommodate Muslims in
ways that allow them to reconcile their faith and citizenship commitments, and that the British ‘establishment’ is no less successful at achieving this than secular republicanism
in the US.

“Islamophobia” has been used as an umbrella term capturing different types of religious stigma towards Muslims. However, the operationalization of the term for research purposes varies greatly, where little attention heretofore has been paid on how islamophobia affects Muslim minorities’ lives. Against this background, we aimed to develop and validate the Perceived Islamophobia Scale (PIS). In the first study (167 German-Arabs, 184 German-Turks and 205 British-Pakistanis), exploratory factor analyses of a preliminary item pool gave support of a three-factor scale in all samples. Subscales were computed for each factor (i.e., perceptions of a general fear of Islam and Muslims, fear of islamization, and islamophobia in the media), which were reliable across the samples. In all samples, the PIS was positively related to psychological distress and in two samples this relation remained significant, after controlling for experiences of discrimination. In Study 2 (262 German-Turks, 277 French-Maghrebis and 249 British-Pakistanis), confirmatory factor analyses supported the structural equivalence of the scale’s three-factor solution. The PIS was positively related to perceived stress and discrimination. Lastly, PIS predicted higher levels of religious and ethnic identification, controlling for discrimination. The PIS seems to be a valid and reliable measure across different Muslim minority groups. The fact that perceptions of islamophobia in two samples negatively predicted psychological distress after controlling for experiences of discrimination, suggests that anti-discrimination laws may be insufficient in protecting Muslim minorities of the negative effects of stigma on psychological well-being.

The fruit of a sustained and close collaboration between historians, linguists and jurists working on the Christian, Muslim and Jewish societies of the Middle Ages, this book explores the theme of religious coexistence (and the problems it poses) from a resolutely comparative perspective. The authors concentrate on a key aspect of this coexistence: the legal status attributed to Jews and Muslims in Christendom and to dhimmīs in Islamic lands. What are the similarities and differences, from the point of view of the law, between the indigenous religious minority and the foreigner? What specific treatments and procedures in the courtroom were reserved for plaintiffs, defendants or witnesses belonging to religious minorities? What role did the law play in the segregation of religious groups? In limiting, combating, or on the contrary justifying violence against them? Through these questions, and through the innovative comparative method applied to them, this book offers a fresh new synthesis to these questions and a spur to new research.

This paper deals with Muslim merchants and slaves in Early Modern Tuscany (1590-1750). The first part of this article is a description of Livorno bagno (slave prison), and the second part of free Muslims (traders, diplomats, sailors) in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

This assignment addresses two important questions and one minor. The major ones would be how Constantinople and the Western Roman Empire was partly responsible for the fall of the city? Second would be the why the Ottomans were so driven to conquer this city? The final inquiry would be the relation between the Ottomans and the Khilafat movement in 20th century.

The way people think about the Holocaust is changing. The particular nature of the transformation depends on people’s historical perspectives and how they position themselves and their nation or community vis-à-vis the tragedy. Understandably, European Muslims perceive the Holocaust as less central to their history than do other Europeans. Yet while the acknowledgement and commemoration of the horrors of the Holocaust are increasingly important in Europe, Holocaust denial and biased views on the Holocaust are widespread in European Muslims’ countries of origin.
In this book, a number of distinguished scholars and educators of various backgrounds discuss views of the Holocaust. Problematic views are often influenced by a persistent attitude of Holocaust denial which is derived, in part, from discourses in the Muslim communities in their countries of origin. The essays collected here explore the backgrounds of these perceptions and highlight positive approaches and developments. Many of the contributions were written by people working in the field and reflecting on their experiences. This collection also reveals that problematic views of the Holocaust are not limited to Muslim communities.

The importance of the position of Italian mercantile republics in the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada (1232-1492) during the early Renaissance is widely known. Genoa, Venice and Florence played a decisive role in facilitating the external commerce of the last Muslim state in the Iberian Peninsula, helping Granada to survive in a complex and rapidly changing geopolitical context, with an increasingly strong Crown of Castile pressing the Sultanate on the Iberian Peninsula, and a divided and turbulent Islamic world in the Western Mediterranean, as a long-established historiographical tradition has shown. Scholars have mainly devoted their attention to the relationship of Granada with Genoa, which is understandable if we remember that the Superba had a privileged position in the Nasrid Sultanate. the Genoese were not the only ones who took the opportunity to trade in Nasrid lands. Without minimising the significance of Genoese involvement in developing the region’s commercial potential, other issues to be addressed include the activity of perhaps less visible but far from insignificant merchant communities, including the Venetians and Florentines. Their activities in the Nasrid kingdom were important in their own right, and it certainly complicates a vision defined perhaps too much by Genoese domination until quite recently. To consider the relations between Venice and Florence, on the one hand, and the Sultanate of Granada on the other, enhances our understanding of the role Renaissance Italian states played within the heterogeneous structures of Western Mediterranean Islam. This enhanced narrative may be constructed on the complementary pillars of diplomacy and commerce. Therefore, this essay will study the diplomatic and commercial strategies followed by Renaissance Venice and Florence in Granada, comparing them with their approach to other Western Mediterranean Muslim states. As will become evident, Venice proved to be a very useful model for Florence but, at the same time, it will be clear that if Florence followed the Venetian example in Egypt and the Maghreb, it did not do the same regarding Granada. The differences did not result, though, in a more successful position for either of these Italian republics in Granada, which remained always a secondary market in their economies.

P rior to 9/11, little formal policy attention was paid in Britain to the role of Muslim religious leaders, except as a subdivision of immigration control policy in a period when the pioneer generation was recruiting foreign imams in its mosque-building phase. Subsequently, in the government's view, the British imam has become a central figure in tackling extremism, potentially displacing the community's current leadership and professional Islamic activists -a development that has also been observed in France during the same period. 1 The good imam is now to embody civic virtues, interfaith tolerance, professional managerial and pastoral skills, possibly become involved in inner city regeneration, work as an agent of national integration (most importantly on behalf of his young unruly flock), and wage a jihad against extremism. By contrast, the bad imam has become an agent of divisive cultural and religious alterity to be deterred by multiplying bureaucratic hurdles, defamed, deported or imprisoned. Most of this article focuses upon how this particular series of attributes have become attached to the official idea of the "good imam," for although some passing attention will be given to his obverse, the "bad imam," the reasons for his particular configuration of undesirable attributes are perhaps more obvious. This article explores how the role of the good imam has been defined in reference to models of "civic religion" developed by the Church of England over the last twenty years, which have been taken up by the government in relation to the "minority religions": interfaith, inner city regeneration and community cohesion. The coincidence of this new outreach with the simultaneous securitization of Muslim communities has meant that the T  M  W  •

Starting from Leo Marsicanus' Chronicle of Montecassino (I 43), the primary purpose of this article is to analyse more in detail the late 870s early 880s as years closely linked to the formation of the Muslim settlement near the river Garigliano (883-915), both in a local and transcultural perspective. In doing so, our current ideas about the Muslims of pre-Norman mainland Italy, mostly seen either as pirates, adventurers and gangs of robbers or as "jihadists", are scrutinised. The complex dynamics in the territories of Gaeta, involving not only local elites of Capua or Naples but also authorities like the pope or the Aghlabid emirs, reveal a hitherto undervalued dimension of Christian- Muslim collaboration in which even papal allies were embroiled. Not least, the donations of John VIII in favour of the Gaetan hypati (most probably in June 12, 882) have to be seen against this background. Furthermore, especially from Latin texts emerges that the Muslims of the Garigliano were well connected to other military bases (in particular Agropoli) and played an important role in controlling land and sea routes as well as in being a departure point for raids. In a wider and more long-term perspective, everything points to think that a conquest of mainland Italy was repeatedly attempted, although ultimately in vain. Laying aside stereotypical bipolar ideas, future researches will contribute to reconsider the Muslim presence on the Apennine peninsula in close connection to the emirate of Ifriqiya and Sicily, between the poles of violent conflicts and frequent Muslim-Christian agreements, as well as in a wider Mediterranean context.

This book identifies Muslims‟ current socio-legal situation and their legal attitudes from different perspectives. The main aim of this study is to analyze the conflict between the assumptions of modern legal systems and plural legal realities. While there is a reconstruction of unofficial Muslim laws in the modern and officially uniform secular legal systems of England and Turkey, in the case of Pakistan, where Islamic laws are recognized to a great extent, legal reform attempts in the areas of Muslim family law by the Islamic Pakistani state have so far not been successful and have led to intense clashes. The study shows that Muslims in these countries react to the modern frameworks of legal systems and do not abandon their locally formulated and interpreted Muslim laws. State formulations and interpretations of Islamic law, as in the case of Pakistan, or its more or less total disregard, as in the cases of Britain and Turkey, lead people to reconstruct their own unofficial Muslim laws.

The aim of this article is to analyze, on the basis of a particular theoretical approach to identity construction, the factors that shape and help delineate various types of (religious) identity constructions among Western-born generations of Muslims. The author argues that a theoretical framework that combines a socio-cultural use of religion in the construction of group identity with that of scriptural interpretation provides the optimal conceptual tool for not only understanding the formation of religious identity among Western-born and/or Western-raised generations of Muslims, but also for delineating between different types of identities being acquired by the Muslims living in the West.

The presented review was an attempt to share the contribution of Greco Arabic Muslim scientists in the field of medicine. In this regard, al-Andalusi, al-Antaki, al-Baghdadi, al-Jawhari, al-Kindi, al-Nafis, al-
Razi, al-Tabari, al-Zahrawi, Ibn Abdallah Ibn Idris al Qurtubi, Ibn al-Jazzar, Ibn al-Baitar, Ibn al- Haitham, Ibn El-Quff, Ibn Haiyan, Ibn Sina, Ibn Wahshiyyah and Ibn Zuhr with their contribution has discussed.

A visibilidade que as comunidades muçulmanas têm vindo a adquirir nas principais cidades europeias resulta não só do seu crescimento demográfico, mas também da sua crescente afirmação social e cultural. A formulação de políticas sociais, culturais, educacionais e urbanísticas por parte de governos e autoridades locais têm de considerar estes grupos minoritários, de modo a garantir a sua adaptação, efectiva integração no meio circundante e respeito pelos seus direitos. A comunidade muçulmana a residir em Portugal é pequena, se comparada com as existentes em alguns países da Europa ocidental, e com uma origem recente. Os primeiros Muçulmanos chegaram a Portugal na década de 1950, mas a grande massa veio após a instauração do regime democrático no país. Desde então, a comunidade tem crescido em termos numéricos, mas a sua característica mais marcante é a sua evolução ao incorporar uma cada vez maior diversidade de nacionalidades e culturas. Contudo, a interacção de Portugal com o mundo muçulmano e o Islão não se resume à presença de Muçulmanos nas suas ex-colónias durante o seu percurso colonial, ou às comunidades islâmicas em Portugal na actualidade. É, pelo contrário, uma história longa e complexa. A própria formação do país deriva deste processo, o qual muitas vezes é contado como sinónimo de lutas, conflitos e desejo de domínio sobre o Outro. Mas se olharmos para além das histórias de guerras e movimentos expansionistas de Muçulmanos e Cristãos, encontramos testemunhos de um passado conjunto que envolve troca de saberes, alianças, influências e intercâmbios entre dois mundos diferentes. São numerosos os vestígios deixados por este passado, cuja contribuição para a formação da nossa identidade nacional é hoje amplamente reconhecida e valorizada. Ao poderem contar com a presença de Muçulmanos no seu território do século VIII ao século XV, os países ibéricos beneficiaram dos contactos estabelecidos com as partes dessa vasta civilização, e desta com o resto do mundo. Estes séculos contrastaram com o obscurantismo dos Visigodos, presentes na Península Ibérica à data da invasão muçulmana, sobretudos em aspectos relacionados com o dinamismo cultural e intelectual. De igual modo, com a chegada dos Muçulmanos inicia-se um novo capítulo da história europeia, cujas consequências se fazem sentir quer no seu percurso cultural e artístico, quer no desenvolvimento e aplicação prática de diversas ciências. Na primeira parte deste texto, será abordada a presença islâmica no Gharb-al-Andalus, essim como a herança desse período histórico. Na segunda parte, será feita uma análise da comunidade muçulmana em Portugal, nos nossos dias. Os Muçulmanos no Al-Andalus Após a morte do Profeta Maomé, em 632, os Muçulmanos iniciam a sua expansão para territórios como a Síria, o Iraque, o Egipto e Norte de África. Em 711, chegam à Península Ibérica sob o comando do general berbere Tariq ibn Zyad. Por esta altura, ainda não eram a civilização avançada em que se tornariam, embora já tivessem absorvido um vasto património intelectual 1 Este novo povo caracterizava-se pela sua heterogeneidade. A maioria eram berberes do Norte de África, ainda não completamente islamizados, seguidos de uma minoria de Árabes, que viriam a constituir a aristocracia dominante. Esta diversidade de nacionalidades dificultará o estabelecimento de um estado coerente e territorialmente estável. A sua chegada e expansão foi facilitada por uma série de condições existentes. A Hispânia visigótica vivia envolta em lutas dinásticas e revoltas populares. As degradantes condições sociais e económicas a que o povo estava sujeito, fomentavam um clima de opressão e desigualdades crescentes. No plano religioso, professava-se um Cristianismo de pendor arianista, hostil às concepções trinitárias do rito e liturgia romana. Por outro lado, a minoria judaica era vítima de grande hostilidade e perseguições. Compreende-se, por isso, a aceitação por parte da população de um novo poder político. . O seu avanço foi bloqueado em Poitiers, n sudeste de França, em 631, ficando na Península Ibérica por dominar apenas as Astúrias. A islamização do al-Andalus ficou-se a dever a um longo processo de aculturação das populações, especialmente as urbanas, a uma nova realidade cultural e religiosa, a qual foi acompanhada pela abertura de novas rotas marítimas e de novos mercados. Os mercadores e artesãos que se instalavam nos espaços urbanos foram o veículo não só de novas mercadorias, mas sobretudo de novas ideias e de uma nova fé. Num primeiro momento, a arabização da sociedade parece ter sido mínima, principalmente nas regiões periféricas como o Gharb, palavra que significa Ocidente, neste caso da Península Ibérica. Com o Califado de Córdova, este processo vai sofrer uma aceleração, possibilitada pela relativa acalmia social naquelas regiões. O Gharb assume-se como um território individualizado e com algumas particularidades no contexto do Al-Andalus. Estando afastada dos centros decisórios de Córdova, Granada e Sevilha, esta região resiste às tentativas de centralização por parte dos emires e califas. A tentativa de preservar as suas liberdades políticas e económicas, deu origem a diversas revoltas da população autóctone, com o objectivo de unificar politicamente aquela região. 2 O Tejo era a linha separadora entre o norte, menos islamizado e arabizado, e o sul, com uma maior presença de populações muçulmanas. A incorporação dos territórios do Norte em regiões islamizadas correspondeu a uma prática muito generalizada no al-Andalus: a negociação do estatuto das populações residentes. Para garantirem a sua autonomia, aquelas viam-se obrigadas ao pagamento de tributos: o kharaj, para conservarem as suas terras e 1 bens, e a jizya para manterem a sua religião. Os que aceitavam sujeitar-se à dominação islâmica, mas continuavam a professar a sua fé, designavam-se por moçárabes. Até ao século XII foram uma presença constante em todo o território peninsular. A sul do rio Tejo, os processos de islamização e arabização foram mais intensos. Este território, mais próximo do mar Mediterrâneo, torna-se mais receptivo a todo o tipo de influências vindas do exterior. A região de Lisboa e Algarve constituíram os principais pólos económicos do Gharb e as zonas mais densamente povoadas. A presença muçulmana no Gharb pode ser dividida nas seguintes etapas, delimitadas por importantes datas que marcaram a história do al-Andalus: -De 711 a 1031: início da invasão berbero-árabe, representada tradicionalmente pela batalha de Guadalete, até à queda do Califado do Córdova; -De 1031 a 1091: proliferação dos reinos taifas até à queda do reino Abádida; -De 1091 a 1250: domínio das dinastias magrebinas até à conquista do reino de Faro por Afonso III, que assinala o fim da islamização no Gharb. Quando os exércitos de Tariq submeteram os Visigodos, o império muçulmano tinha o seu centro em Damasco, onde reinavam os Omíadas. Em 750, esta dinastia é vítima da revolta dos Abássidas e o centro do mundo muçulmano é transferido para Bagdade. O neto do Califa Omíada, tendo escapado ao massacre que vitimou toda a família, chega ao al-Andalus em 755. Aqui, o príncipe Abd al-Rahmān proclama-se emir independente e funda a Dinastia Omíada de Córdova. Por essa altura, o Gharb era dominado por clãs iemenitas e sírios, que ao verem a sua posição em risco, fomentam uma série de revoltas para tentarem resistir ao poder cordovês. Em 763, o chefe do clã dos Yahsubi proclama-se representante da dinastia de Bagdade no Al-Andalus, numa rebelião que se estende a todo o território ocidental. Esta acaba por ser A primeira taifa do Gharb teve origem em Badajoz, onde, em 1022 toma o poder Ibn al-Aftas, um berbere que inicia a dinastia dos Aftácidas. Este era um dos reinos mais importantes, cobrindo todo o território do rio Douro a Beja, cidade que disputaram com a dinastia sevilhana. Quando o fundador desta dinastia morre em 1045, sobe ao poder o seu filho, al-Muzzafar, o qual fez a paz com o reino de Sevilha, seis anos mais tarde. Em 1057, uma série de perdas territoriais obriga o rei a pagar tributo aos cristãos. Este soberano assume-se como protector das artes e dos intelectuais, rodeando-se de poetas e filósofos, a quem atribuía cargos políticos. Destaca-se o filósofo Ibn al-Sid al-Batalyawsi, autor de inúmeras obras, entre as quais o Livro dos Círculos, que viria a influenciar muitas obras judaicas. Um dos poetas mais destacados do Gharb, Ibn 'Abdûn, dedicou mesmo uma elegia a este soberano, seu amigo e patrono. Segundo alguns autores, o próprio al-Muzzafar terá sido o autor de uma enciclopédia de quarenta volumes, a qual se encontra perdida. A taifa de Ossónoba, actualmente Faro, foi dirigida por uma família da região, os Banu Harun, com a ajuda dos muladis da região. Em 1052-54, este reino é absorvido pelos Abádidas. Da taifa de Ibn Tayfur, em Mértola, apenas se sabe que terá durado cerca de quinze anos, após o que se aliou à dinastia de Badajoz com o fim de enfrentar o poder crescente de Sevilha. Em 1044, também este reino cai sob domínio desta última. A última taifa surgiu em Silves, uma das cidades mais importantes do Ocidente, e que terá grande destaque na fase final da islamização. Em 1063, é anexada pela taifa de Sevilha, sendo nomeado governador al-Mutamid, filho do soberano sevilhano. Na segunda metade do século XI, as ambições territoriais de al-Mutadid, da dinastia de Sevilha, levam-no a controlar quase todo o Gharb. Após a sua morte, em 1069, sobe ao trono o de sexta-feira e os encontros durante o mês do Ramadão. Em 1991, aparece a mesquita de Coimbra, onde se juntam algumas famílias e estudantes para as suas orações. A mesquita do Porto tem uma história mais tardia, bem como a sua comunidade. Durante muitos anos, foram poucos os Muçulmanos a residir nesta cidade. Em 1999, já com cerca de dois mil Muçulmanos na região, dá-se a criação formal da comunidade. O local que fora um ginásio, e onde a comunidade já se costumava reunir...

Nach einem Blick auf Konstruktionen des Muslims in den Medien widmet sich dieser Beitrag den Verschränkungen der bundesdeutschen Integrations- und Islampolitik, bevor er sich den analytischen Unschärfen in der Wissensproduktion zu Muslimen im akademischen Feld zuwendet. Mit Medien, Politik und Forschung greift er in kursorischer Weise drei verschiedene an der Konzeptualisierung von Muslimen als Migranten beteiligte und in Wechselwirkung stehende gesellschaftliche Handlungsfelder auf und zielt darauf ab, eingehendere Analysen der Konstruktionsprozesse in den Debatten über Islam, Migration und Integration anzuregen. Er ist ein Plädoyer dafür, die Überschneidungen und Inkongruenzen der Kategorien "Muslim" und "Migrant" in Deskription und Analyse bewusst wahrzunehmen und methodisch zu operationalisieren, sie vor allem aber nicht als natürlich gegeben oder selbstverständlich anzunehmen.

Early medieval southern Italian chroniclers related the great strife Muslim forces brought to their lands. Their accounts, however, were far more nuanced than scholars have previously proposed. A closer reading of the evidence reveals that these authors did not consider Saracens to be evil incarnate. Indeed, some sources offer examples of their humanity. Moreover, Muslims were not always considered a distant and unapproachable other. These writers also showed that Franks, Byzantines, and some Lombard rulers could be far worse. Through examining three surviving chronicles, which narrate the history of the southern Lombards, the Deeds of the Neapolitan Bishops, and a Jewish-family history, this article will advocate for a new reckoning of the way southern Italian peoples perceived Muslims during the early Middle Ages.