The ISIM is setting up a research programme on 'The Production of Islamic Knowledge in Western Europe', coordinated by Professor Martin van Bruinessen in cooperation with Dr Nico Landman of Utrecht University. The ISIM has organized a series of lectures (summer 2001 and forthcoming in autumn 2001) on the state of the art in this research area - to be published either in the ISIM Newsletter or separately as ISIM Papers. An annotated bibliography prepared through the concerted efforts of the ISIM, CNRSStrasbourg, the University of Louvain-la-Neuve and other institutions, will soon be made available online

Bruinessen, M. van

Leiden University Scholary Publications

Re sea rc h Pr o gr a mmeM A RT I N  V A N  B R U I N E S S E NThe ISIM is setting up a research programme on ‘TheProduction of Islamic Knowledge in Western Europe’,coordinated by Professor Martin van Bruinessen incooperation with Dr Nico Landman of Utrecht Uni-versity. The ISIM has organized a series of lectures(summer 2001 and forthcoming in autumn 2001) onthe state of the art in this research area – to be pub-lished either in the ISIM Newsletter or separately asISIM Papers. An annotated bibliography preparedthrough the concerted efforts of the ISIM, CNRS-Strasbourg, the University of Louvain-la-Neuve andother institutions, will soon be made available on-l i n e .The Production ofIslamic Knowledgein Western EuropeIn order to develop comparative researchon the production of Islamic knowledge, co-operation with other research institutes inEurope is actively being sought. The I S I MN e w s l e t t e r and website are made availablefor communication between researchers inthis field. The ISIM especially invites applica-tions for Ph.D. and post-doctoral researchgrants that fit within the programme. Appli-cations are reviewed by the selection com-mittee in October and March (see the web-site for further details).Local versus ‘universal’ IslamIn all parts of the globe where it has takenroot, Islam has developed local forms. This isnot uniquely due to the retention of localpre-Islamic practices, which may graduallybe purged by reform movements. Differentregions may have their distinctive practices,the various Islamic institutions may play dif-ferent roles, education and adjudication maybe organized differently, and the interactionbetween the u l a m a and the state may pro-ceed according to different patterns. Evenwithin ‘scripturalist’ Islam, there is an undeni-able regional variation, notwithstanding theclaims of certain Western scholars as well asMuslim fundamentalists.The Muslim communities of Western Eu-rope constitute – with the exception of a rel-atively small number of European converts– diasporic communities, maintaining vari-ous types of links with their countries of ori-gin and with similar communities in othercountries. The social, economic and politicalsituation of these communities differs sig-nificantly from that of co-religionists in theirhome countries. In daily life they encountera whole range of new and different prob-lems that demand an Islamic answer. Thevarious ‘host’ countries provide differentconstraints and possibilities for the devel-opment of Muslim institutions, Islamicthought and Islamic practices. Inevitably Eu-ropean forms of Islam will develop, ground-ed in locally acquired knowledge of Islam.Initially the sources for most of this knowl-edge were located elsewhere, either in thehome countries of the Muslim immigrantcommunities or in other Muslim countriesor transnational networks claiming to repre-sent a purer, universal interpretation ofIslam. Among the mediators we find imams,teachers and preachers visiting Western Eu-rope, and u l a m a, intellectuals and journal-ists in the ‘home’ countries reaching out tothe immigrant communities by mail andthrough print and electronic media. Sec-ond- and third-generation immigrants,however, tend to understand the languageof the country of residence better than thelanguages of their parents or grandparents.The gradual shift from Turkish, Arabic, Urdu,or Malay to English and other European lan-guages as vehicles of Islamic discourse islikely to be reflected in changing patterns ofreligious authority as well as considerablechanges in the discourses themselves.During the last few decades, Muslims in Eu-rope have produced a considerable amountof material on Islam in the forms of media(from newsletters to the internet). There is amultiplicity of voices, not only due to a varietyof origins (different home countries as well asdifferent currents within, for example, TurkishIslam) and variations in the legal and culturalcontexts in the countries of residence, butalso to complex patterns of social interaction.Although Turkish, Moroccan and PakistaniMuslims interact for the most part with Mus-lims of the same national origins, there is anincreasing number of Muslim spokespersonsand thinkers whose authority transcends eth-nic and national boundaries. Terms such as‘Turkish Islam’ or ‘Moroccan Islam’ do as littlejustice to the complexity of the developingdiscourses as ‘Dutch Islam’ or ‘French Islam’.The production of localk n o w l e d g eThere are several interesting aspects to theprocesses under consideration that call forserious study. One of these concerns theproduction of local knowledge – a processthat inevitably occurred wherever Islam wasestablished outside its original heartlands.Islam emerged in a specific cultural and his-torical context of Arabia. When it spread toother societies and cultures, it underwent adual process of u n i v e r s a l i z a t i o n and l o c a l i z a-t i o n. In order to adapt it to local contexts, theproducers (and brokers) of Islamic knowl-edge had to first decide which elements ofIslam as it existed in the original contextwere specifically Arabian and could be dis-carded, while retaining those elements thatwere considered essential and non-nego-tiable. This could be called the process ofu n i v e r s a l i z a t i o n, the separation of what wasconsidered universal in the Islamic messagefrom what was contingent. The second step,that of l o c a l i z a t i o n, meant adapting the uni-versalized message to local customs andneeds. This process of production of local Is-lamic knowledge continues as local tradi-tions of Islamic knowledge develop.The Muslim migrants who came to West-ern Europe brought Islam with them inmany different local forms, including local-ized popular religious practices and local-ized references to scriptural authority. Theytoo have to decide which aspects are nego-tiable and which have to be retained intact.Islamic knowledge in Western Europe is pro-duced on the basis of ‘universalized’ ver-sions of the local Islamic knowledge of thehome countries and other prestigious cen-tres. It is this process of abstraction as wellas the process of adaptation of discourse tolocal conditions that constitute the focus ofthe present research programme.Individual research projects within theprogramme may concentrate on the follow-ing aspects:– The development of European Muslim dis-courses: projects may range from an analysisof sermons or fatwas specifically issued at therequest of Muslims in Europe, to debates inMuslim media or public controversies con-cerning Islam.– The contexts within which Islamic knowledgeis being produced: comparative analysis of theways in which local contexts condition theproduction of Islamic knowledge. Europeancountries have different policies concerningIslamic education, the admission of imamsand preachers, Muslim media, associations ofMuslims, etc., and different conceptions ofthe degree to which Muslim immigrants areexpected to integrate and assimilate them-selves.– Islamic institutions: a third important per-spective is that of the institutions in and bywhich Islamic knowledge is being producedor reproduced. These obviously include themosque and Qur’an courses and institutes offormal or informal Islamic education, but alsostate schools. Muslim associations, broadcast-ing corporations and other media, and em-bassies of Muslim countries are to be consid-ered. Since istifta, the requesting of an au-thoritative opinion, is such a central processin the development of Islamic knowledgeeverywhere, special attention should be paidto the various institutions that issue fatwas(including the electronic media).– The establishment of religious authority: Whoare considered as authorities whose counselis heeded, and why? How do they establishtheir authority, and what are the means bywhich they attempt to consolidate it? Is a shiftoccurring from dependence on authorities inthe countries of origin to reliance on authori-ties based in Western Europe? Mosque imamsappear to be far more influential in the dias-pora than in the home countries, at least inpart because of the pastoral role and authori-ty attributed to them by local governmentsand other institutions, and in part because ofthe different functions the mosque fulfils inthe diaspora. What strategies are used to es-tablish or to de-legitimatize the authority ofcertain imams? How and by whom can theirauthority be overruled? How authoritative arethe Muslim thinkers who publish books andarticles in European languages, and how in-fluential are their writings?– Transnationalism: another important per-spective is the transnational dimension of theprocesses concerned. It is useful to distin-guish the transnational relations of migrantcommunities and their homeland from thoseamongst migrants of the same cultural back-ground living in various European countries,and even from the relations transcendingethnic or national boundaries as well as stateboundaries.States such as Turkey and Morocco aremaking great efforts to keep their (former)subjects under control, and they are activelypromoting their respective official versions ofIslam among the European Muslim communi-ties. Oppositional religious movements fromthese countries use the relative freedom ofWestern Europe to spread dissenting mes-sages among the migrant communities invarious European countries in the hope ofusing these as a stepping stone for politicalaction at home. A wide variety of dacwamovements, from the puritan and fundamen-talist to the tasawwuf oriented, are propagat-ing rival versions of allegedly universal Islam-ic messages to audiences irrespective of eth-nicity and nationality.– The ethnic dimension: the major fault linescutting through the Muslim communities inWestern Europe are those of country of originand ethnicity. (These two factors should notbe superimposed, as the examples of Turkish-Kurdish relations and Arab-Berber relationsindicate.) One would expect these factors togradually decline in importance. Associations,networks and authority figures that attractmembers and followers across ethnic and na-tional boundaries deserve special attention,for this is where European forms of Islam arelikely to emerge.– The new media: these and some of the‘older’ media as well play a crucial part in theproduction of Islamic knowledge in Europe.Due attention should therefore be paid to therole of print and electronic media in produc-ing Islamic knowledge. It is also important todiscover to what extent the new media usherin new types and modalities of communica-tion, and what this means for the contents ofcommunication. Materials to be studied in-clude fatwas and sermons (in all forms ofmedia), discussion lists, chat boxes and web-sites on the internet, films or television pro-grammes with religious themes, popular nov-els, soap operas and documentaries.– Production, reception and reproduction of Is-lamic knowledge in Western Europe: the pro-duction of new Islamic discourses is only rele-vant insofar as these discourses also find ac-ceptance by the Muslim communities in Eu-rope. The reception of Islamic knowledge is asubject deserving serious research in itself.What does the second generation of Muslimimmigrants learn about Islam, and what dothe European converts learn? Where and howdo they seek knowledge, which questions dothey ask, and what answers do they find?– Islam as the living praxis of Muslims: in-evitably new practices are developing amongMuslims in Western Europe in the fields ofmarriage and the family, economic enter-prise, inter-religious relations, political em-powerment, social security, and the relationswith the state. Insofar as those concerned be-lieve that these practices are in some sense Is-lamic or part of a Muslim culture with whichthey identify, they represent a practicalknowledge of Islam, even though some ofthese practices may be at odds with scrip-turalist Islam as defined by the ulama.ISIMI S I M  N E W S L E T T E R 8 / 0 1 3For further information, please contact the ISIMsecretariat or consult the ISIM website: h t t p : / / w w w . i s i m . n l / i s i m / r e s e a r c h /p r o g r a m m e s / I s l a m k n o w l e d g e . h t mThis issue of the ISIM Newsletter contains a special sec-tion, ‘Features’, which deals specifically with the pro-duction of Islamic knowledge in Western Europe. Bava(p.7), Jonker (p.8) and Kehl (p.9) offer additional insightinto this dynamic field of research.

The Production of Islamic Knowledge in Western Europe

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