Chapter 10

Muslims in Britain, Western Europe, and the United States

Chapter Summary

Limitations of this chapter – Europe up to 1950 – 17th-century Britain: prisoners of war, Arabic in universities, diplomatic relations – 18th-century Britain: Muslim seamen – 19th-century Britain: merchants, wealthy Indian students, Quilliam and the Liverpool community, the Woking Mosque, beginnings of the Regent's Park Mosque – 1950 onwards – Britain – 1962 Immigration Act – Kashmir – Bangladesh – East African Asians – immigrants from many former colonies – refugees – statistics on Pakistanis in Britain – demands of settled families – national representation – future predictions – France – Germany – Netherlands – Belgium – Denmark – Sweden – Norway – Switzerland – Austria – Italy – Spain – European issues: citizenship, education, radicalization, refugees, population expansion – Groups of Sunni Muslims from the Subcontinent – background – Deobandis – Ahl-i Hadith – Barelvis – Modernists – Tablighi Jamaat – Jamaat-i Islami – Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission – a future perspective – United States – early history – immigration to America – Islamic organizations – African American Muslims – white converts – sectarian movements – Sufi movements – Islamic concerns

Muslim rule in Europe began in Sicily in 827 and ended in Spain in 1492. The first record of Muslims in Britain dates to the 1500s. Many British people appreciated the egalitarian nature of Islam and the high civilization of the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge University acquired a Qur'an manuscript in 1631. George Sale completed the first English translation of the Qur'an in 1734. After 1760, Indian sailors were common in the British merchant fleet; lascars settled in the seaports. Many of these communities were repatriated to their homelands during the Great Depression.

Families returning from the British Raj brought with them Muslim servants and Indian tastes. From the mid-1800s, the sons of wealthy Indian families came to Britain to study. In the late 1800s, Shaykh Abdullah (Henry William) Quilliam established a Muslim community in Liverpool. Anti-Muslim sentiment forced his center to close. After WWI, some accused Muslims of dual loyalty with the defeated Ottoman Empire.

The 1948 Nationality Act gave all imperial subjects the right of free entry into Britain. The influx of workers was slowed by the Commonwealth Immigration Act in 1962. Family members of citizens had broad immigration rights, bringing in an extended family (biradari) dimension. The largest numbers of Muslims came from Kashmir. Many other residents came from East Pakistan (later Bangladesh). In 1971 a new law passed favoring immigrants with a British parent. Many Arabs and Iranians arrived during the 1970s. The Muslim population has become indigenized (British-born) as the years pass.

Muslim needs (clothing, halal meat, etc.) have been honored in British educational institutions. The Education Reform Act 1988 required teaching about Christianity and other principal faiths in society. Muslims have become active in all levels of British politics. Some Muslim laws are in tension with British law. Many organizations have developed to provide a unified Muslim public presence, the latest being the Muslim Council of Britain. The 2001 census identified a large Muslim population in Britain poised to grow significantly in the next decades.

The Muslim population in France is tied to its colonial heritage. The Muslim population is located primarily in industrial areas. Efforts continue to offer a unified Muslim voice. In the 1950s, Germany invited Turkish men in as Gastarbeiters (temporary guest workers). Eventually, many families joined these workers. By 2000, the Muslim population had grown to about 3 million. Smaller Muslim communities exist in all European countries, which all have different immigration laws. With the establishment of the European Union, however, internal migration has become more common. The status of religious education also differs across Europe, according to each country's stance on church-state separation. Racism continues to be a problem for Muslim immigrant communities. Young Muslims in Europe are often frustrated by their conditions and opportunities. As a whole, the Muslim population is significantly younger than the rest of Europe; this is the result of continuing immigration of youth and disparity in birth rates.

Many revival and reform movements developed among Indian Muslims in and after the 1700s. During British rule, Islam had been reduced to the status of a private religion. Many movements offered guidance on surviving as a Muslim under this regime. The Deobandi Movement, for instance, emphasized education and literacy, along with reliance on the ulama rather than British-educated "secular Muslims." Other movements include the Ahl-i Hadith and the Barlevis. Other Muslims, like Sayyid Ahmad Khan, opted for a "modernist" response.

Other important groups include the Tablighi Jamaat (Company of Preachers), which sought to revive Islamic piety among ordinary believers, and the Jamaat-i Islami, founded by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. Maududi developed a theory of "theo-democracy" to achieve his aims. Several contemporary British organizations have their roots in this movement.

Muslim communities in Western Europe are benefiting from the broad opportunities available to them. A great deal of new thought is being put into how Muslims might live faithfully in non-Muslim countries (fiqh al-aqalliyat). Many European converts to Islam and Muslims personally reconciled to life in the West are contributing knowledge to these efforts. Women are taking on new leadership roles. Muslims in the West are taking the lead in developing interfaith relations. These resources and institutions, along with critical journalism, have helped Muslims contribute to politics and civil society. This has been crucial in the era of the "war on terrorism." Naturally, however, there have been some secularizing trends, especially among Islamic youth.

Across the Atlantic, Islam has become an American religion. The faith came with immigrant populations and has been renewed among African Americans. Legislation limited immigration opportunities along racial lines. From the 1940s to the 1960s, new Muslim immigrants, including many Palestinians, Egyptians and Iraqis. A third wave of immigration began around 1967. Many of these immigrants are more secular than religious. With the increase of Islamism, however, many new immigrants are Islamically committed.

Many events have contributed to American criticism of Islam, even while Muslim institutions grow. Significant institutions include the Federation of Islamic Associations, the Muslim Student Association, the Islamic Medical Association, the Continental Council of Masajid of North America, and the Islamic Society of North America. The influence of Shi'i Muslims in North America continues to grow. The Shi'i presence is mostly from Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. The largest concentration of Druze is in Los Angeles.

African American Islam can be traced from African slaves, through Noble Drew Ali, to W.D. Fard and Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam teaches many things rejected by orthodox Islam. Warith Deen Mohammed has helped African American Islam transition to more traditional forms. The Nation of Islam continues under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan. North America also has many white converts to Islam. North American Islam is populated by many sects and subgroups.

Muslims in America share many concerns, including religious leadership, education of children, and cultural and economic assimilation. Anti-Arab and anti-Islamic bias is also a shared concern, especially after the events of 9/11. In response, Muslims have begun building coalitions with other civil society institutions. Muslims feel they can call America to live up to its own ideals.

Key Names, Terms, and Concepts

  • Great Expulsion
  • Ottoman Empire
  • Austro-Hungarian Empire
  • Alexander Ross
  • George Sale
  • lascars
  • Syed Ameer Ali
  • Muhammad Iqbal
  • Muhammad Ali Jinnah
  • Shaykh Abdullah (Henry William) Quilliam
  • Shahjehan Mosque
  • 1948 Nationality Act
  • biradari
  • Education Reform Act 1988
  • Hizb ut-Tahrir
  • Gastarbeiter
  • Diyanet
  • Tariqa Muhammadiyya
  • 1857–58 Indian Mutiny
  • First War for Indian Independence
  • Deobandi Movement
  • The Ahl-i Hadith Movement
  • Barelvi Movement (Ahl-i Sunnat wa al-Jamaat)
  • Sayyid Ahmad Khan
  • Muhammad Iqbal
  • Tablighi Jamaat
  • Jamaat-i Islami
  • The Muslim Brotherhood
  • Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi
  • Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission
  • Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian
  • fiqh al-aqalliyat
  • Yusuf Islam
  • Timothy Winter
  • Tariq Ramadan
  • Aisha Bewley
  • Moriscos
  • Federation of Islamic Associations
  • Muslim Student Association
  • Ithna 'Ashari
  • Noble Drew Ali
  • W.D. Fard
  • Elijah Muhammad
  • Nation of Islam
  • Warith Deen Mohammed

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

  1. Briefly describe the history of East Pakistan.
  2. What sorts of institutional needs are demanded by developing immigrant communities?
  3. How is provision made for religious education in schools across Europe? What could be the benefits and drawbacks of being recognized as an "official religion"?
  4. Much of the immigrant population in Western Europe is the result of colonial and imperial pasts. How does this historical reality complicate or simplify the European context of Islam?
  5. Consider the development of immigration laws in Britain. What were the driving forces behind these laws? Could anti-Muslim bias or racism be fruitfully introduced into this conversation?
  6. Imagine that you are a Muslim born to the third generation of an immigrant community. What challenges might you face in keeping your Islamic commitments? What things would encourage you and help you strengthen your awareness of your own tradition?

For Further Reading

Books

  • Norman Daniel, Islam and the West: The Making of an Image (Oxford: Oneworld, 2000).
  • Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
  • Adam Lebor, A Heart Turned East: Among the Muslims of Europe and America (London: Thomas Dunne, 2001).
  • Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim, Toward an Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights, and International Law (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996).
  • Gilles Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and the West, trans. Pascale Ghazaleh (Cambridge: Belknap, 2004).
  • Mohamed Nimer, The North American Muslim Resource Guide: Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada (New York: Routledge, 2002).
  • Tariq Ramadan, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  • Feisal Abdul Rauf, What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004).
  • Steven Salaita, Anti-Arab Racism in the USA: Where it Comes From and What it Means for Politics Today (London: Pluto, 2006).
  • Jane I. Smith, Islam in America (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000).

Web sites

  • "Know Your Rights Pocket Guide." This resource, produced by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), seeks to provide information on "your rights and responsibilities as an American Muslim." (http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=knowYourRightsPocketGuide) The CAIR website is a good resource for broader information.
  • "The Media Guide to Islam." Developed by the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University, the site helps ensure accuracy for journalists seeking to report matters related to Islam and Muslims in the United States. (http://mediaguidetoislam.sfsu.edu/home/index.htm)
  • "Islamic Foundation in Leicester." This is an excellent source of information regarding Muslim life in Britain. (http://www.islamic-foundation.org.uk/
  • "American-Arab Anti-Defamation Committee." (http://www.adc.org/)

Web sites with related visuals