Islam in the West

Description

The bombings in New York and Washington in 2001 and subsequent terrorist attacks in different countries of the West have led to fast changing socio-cultural and political contexts where Islam has been depicted as a global threat. The meaning of being a Muslim has undergone rapid transformation with the interplay of perceptions and misperceptions impacted by, for instance, the Iranian Revolution of 1978–9, the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, the Gulf War of 1990–1, and the clash of civilizations thesis propagated by Samuel Huntington in 1993.
This book examines the way Muslims and mainstream societies in the West perceive each other by taking into account themes like cultural pluralism, media, religious education, interfaith dialogue, and so on. It argues that Muslims are not defined solely by their faith but as an emerging group which is self-critical, reflective, and focused on clearing the misconceptions associated with their identity. Further, it posits that Westerners who are more knowledgeable about Muslims usually express positive opinions about Islam, thereby arguing that the knowledge about and attitudes towards Islam are interrelated.

About the Author

Abe W. Ata is adjunct professor at Swinburne University and honorary professor at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Jan A. Ali is senior lecturer in Islam and Modernity at the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University, Australia.

Reviews

‘This book makes a significant contribution to one of the most important issues facing our world. No two civilizations have been as closely intertwined in history as Islam and the West, but in recent times Islamic extremism and Western Islamophobias threaten to polarize our world.
Abe and Ali’s work is multi-disciplinary and multi perspective, and it gives us a constructive exchange of ideas that helps us unpack the misperceptions, distrust, and prejudices that stand in the way of good dialogue and understanding. It presents a vision of intercultural relations that affirms the importance of resilience, tolerance, respect, and trust.’

- Jane den Hollander AO, president and vice-chancellor Deakin University, Australia

‘Doctors Abe Ata and Jan Ali are to be congratulated on bringing together an expert and balanced collection of analyses of Islam within the context both of its character and history and the tensions and prejudices against it in current attitudes by others. That Islam is a complex and widely misunderstood religion is only just being recognized in societies like Australia, which have otherwise seen it only through mass media descriptions of various terrorist episodes or civil wars. Their well chosen and informative contributors go a long way to present a much better understanding of the realities than such typical comments.’

- James Jupp, AM, FASSA, visiting scholar at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, and general editor, Bicentennial Encyclopaedia of the Australian People

‘The picture of the West reacting to the perceived threat of Islam provides a clear example of standing over against another group as a way of sustaining an identity. Being over against a “wicked” other justifies extreme positions and then the merry-go-round begins and the “wicked” other plays the victim card and bringing their colleagues onboard. It seems that so many of these “wicked” others are the alienated and nihilistic youth and the fact that so many of them are Islamic is incidental. As Olivier Roy claims, these youths are using Islam and in fact their violent radicalism is really the “Islamization of radicalism” to provide the context within which their nihilistic revolt can make sense. There is, therefore, a need for books such as this to provide information that will enable people to situate moderate Islam in a context that enables others, particularly Westerners, to gain a deeper knowledge of Muslims and to appreciate, accept, and benefit from their participation in a multicultural society.’

- Peter Bray, FSC, EdD, vice-chancellor, Bethlehem University (Palestine), West Bank of Jordan

Table of contents

List of Tables and Figures
Foreword by Garry W. Trompf
Acknowledgements

Introduction: Understanding Islam–West Relations and
Muslim and Non-Muslim Mutual Perceptions
Abe W. Ata and Jan A. Ali

I Perceptions and Attitudes

1. Attitudes of School-Age Muslim Australians towards Australia: Gender and Religious Discrepancies— A National Survey
Abe W. Ata

2. How Mainstream Australian Students Perceive Muslims and Islam: A National Survey
Abe W. Ata

3. Framing, Branding, and Explaining: A Survey of Perceptions of Islam and Muslims in the Canadian Polls, Government, and Academia
Ali Ghanbarpour-Dizboni and Christian Leuprecht

II Inclusion and Exclusion

4. Integrated Acculturation and Contact Strategies to Improve Anglo-Muslim Relations in Australia
Hisham M. Abu-Rayya

5. Australian Muslims as Radicalized ‘Other’ and Their Experiences of Social Exclusion
Jan A. Ali

6. Young Muslims’ Identity in Australia and the US: The Focus on the ‘Muslim Question’
Nahid A. Kabir

7. Islam–West Relations and the Rise of Muslim Radicalism and Global Jihadism
Jan A. Ali and Drew Cottle

8. Engaging with Islam, Engaging with Society: The Participation of Muslims in Dutch Society
Thijl Sunier

III Faith and Identity

9. ‘Muslims in the Modern Sense’: Kabyles Negotiating Religious Identity in the Czech Republic
Tereza Hyánková

10. Faith, Identity, and Ideology: Experiences of Australian Male Converts to Islam
Paul Mitchell and Halim Rane

11. Muslim Communities in a Catholic Country: The Case of Italy
Enzo Pace and Mohammed Khalid Rhazzali

Index
About the Editors and Contributors