Jehu J. Hanciles: Migration and the Making of Global Christianity.

Book review of Jehu J. Hanciles: Migration and the Making of Global Christianity. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2021, 461 pp

Finnish Muslims’ Journey from an Invisible Minority to Public Partnerships

The article discusses the historical growth and development of the Muslim population and its contemporary situation in Finland. Finland was annexed as a grand duchy by the Russian Empire in 1809, which led to the presence of Muslim military personnel on Finnish territory and later enabled the settlement of Tatar Muslims from central parts of Russia. These Tatars were for a long time the only organized Muslim community in Finland. They maintained their cultural and linguistic traditions, while being very much at home in their Finnish civic identity. During the 1980s and especially since the 1990s Finland has received many Muslim immigrants, including international students, spouses, refugees, and asylum seekers. The article addresses several complexities in Muslim organizations’ ethnic, national, and sectarian varieties, and takes on board the change in official policies towards Muslims over the years. It also examines the media debates and public attitudes to Islam. The historical Tatar minority’s role has in many respects been important for more recent Muslim immigrants, and though little remarked in public debate, remains very important in seeking a relationship between Islam and north-western Europe

Matthew J. Kuiper: Da’wa: A Global History of Islamic Missionary Thought and Practice.

Book review of Matthew J. Kuiper: Da’wa: A Global History of Islamic Missionary Thought and Practice. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021, 319 pp

New Orthodox Immigration in Finland

The Finnish Orthodox Church is the second largest religious organization in Finland with ca. 57,000 members. During the last 15 years its membership has grown 7% because of international migration. The migrants are mainly from the former Soviet Union (e.g. Estonia, Russia and Ukraine), but there are also small groups from, e.g., Greece, Ethiopia and Romania. The article is a case study of the immigrant activities in two Orthodox parishes that are located in Helsinki and Turku. Issues such as organizational support, religious education and transnational connections are presented. Based on contemporary research on religion and immigration, the article aims to highlight the speci? c role of language in immigrant organizations, and it argues that more attention should be given to it as a speci? c factor