Bloomsbury Academic The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West

For more than a millennium, Islam has been a vital part of Western civilization. Today, however, it is sometimes assumed that Islam is a foreign element inside the West, and even that Islam and the West are doomed to be in perpetual conflict. The need for accurate, reliable scholarship on this topic has never been more urgent. The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West brings together some of the most important, up-to-date scholarly writings published on this subject. The Reader explores not only the presence of Muslim religious practitioners in Europe and the Americas but also the impact of Islamic ideas and Muslims on Western politics, societies, and cultures. It is ideal for use in the university classroom, with an extensive introduction by Edward E. Curtis IV and a timeline of key events in the history of Islam in the West. A brief introduction to the author and the topic is provided at the start of each excerpt. Part 1, on the history of Islam in the West, probes the role of Muslims and the significance of Islam in medieval, early modern, and modern settings such as Islamic Spain, colonial-era Latin America, sixteenth-century France, nineteenth-century Crimea, interwar Albania, the post-World War II United States, and late twentieth-century Germany. Part 2 focuses on the contemporary West, examining debates over Muslim citizenship, the war on terrorism, anti-Muslim prejudice, and Islam and gender, while also providing readers with a concrete sense of how Muslims practise and live out Islamic ideals in their private and public lives. Review Via histories and contemporary case studies, Curtis weaves together a cohesive narrative that shows the ways in which the categories of ‘Islam’ and ‘the West’ are entwined together into a complex tapestry over time. In the end, this is a valuable collection that brings into dialogue a stunning set of scholars and yet exhibits the touch of a talented editor who makes a singular story emerge from the sundry texts included. ― Reading ReligionThis superb reader documents how Muslims were an integral part of the history of the West, and how they continue to shape its present forms. One hopes that it is read widely, especially by those who doubt the influence that Muslims had and continue to have on what it means to be “Western”. ― Amir Hussain, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, USA, and Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of ReligionHere is a magnificent collection on Islam in the West, superbly edited by Edward Curtis. There is remarkable geographic diversity that takes us from North America and Europe to Russia and Spain to Africa. There is rich gendered analysis and discursive diversity. The range of scholars brought together in this accessible reader is simply stunning. Ideal for classroom usage; recommended to both scholars and general readers. ― Omid Safi, Director, Duke Islamic Studies Center, Duke University, USAWith The Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West, editor Edward E. Curtis IV has provided students interested in the exchanges between the 'West' and 'Islam' with an invaluable point of reference that goes to fill an important void. The volume is coherently organised, its introduction questions key terms, and readers are introduced to the chapters with a useful description of each contribution. ― Stefano Taglia, Post-doctoral Fellow, Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, The Czech RepublicThe Bloomsbury Reader on Islam in the West eschews the prevailing narratives of westernization that presume Islam is a foreign tradition in Europe and North America. Through histories and contemporary case studies, readers will learn about the ways in which the taken-for-granted categories of Islam and the West are neither opposite nor separate but overlapping, fluid, contested, and even co-constituted. ― Zareena A. Grewal, Associate Professor of American Studies and Religious Studies, Yale University, US