Muslims in Western Politics

"This study, a compilation of papers submitted to a September 2005 Indiana University conference, explores the political impact that the growing Muslim minorities in Western Europe and North America have on their host societies. In addition to editor Abdulkader Sinno's introduction and conclusion, the volume contains 12 chapters organized under four broad themes: background studies of different Western countries' Muslim minorities; their representation and integration in the hosts' political system; Western public opinion toward Muslim immigrants; and the post-9/11 era's implications for majority-minority relations. While Sinno cites the Canadian approach with approval, he portrays an often fraught relationship between Western states and their Muslim citizens, and offers a broad range of suggestions for both communities to move towards a genuinely tolerant and integrated society. (HK)"—Hobie Kropp, MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL, Vol. 63, No. 2, Spring 2009

"The volume edited by Sinno (Indiana Univ., Bloomington) includes 14 chapters examining state policies toward Muslims, public perception of Muslims, and Muslim political participation in Western (mainly North American and west European) countries. The contributors employ the term 'Muslim' in broadest sense, from a religious affiliation to a cultural or ethnic identity. The book is a combination of social scientific analysis and policy recommendations. Several chapters are critical of Islamophobia and illiberal state policies toward Muslims, in addition to being critical of radical views among Muslims. Some chapters employ in-depth interviews while others use survey data, which leads to the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The book would be enriched if it included deeper textual analyses of major Islamic publications, political documents, and court decisions. Nielsen's chapter, which argues a similarity between French and British policies toward Muslims, neglects the 2004 law on the headscarf ban in France. Soper and Fetzer's and Sinno's chapters include significant comparative analysis, while those of Haddad and Ricks and of Cole are important to understand the US case. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —Choice"—A. T. Kuru, Columbia University, August 2009

"Provides a key comparison of the strategies implemented by various Western nations to deal with issues of cultural pluralism and the challenges of protecting their populations from terrorism."—Caitlin Killian, Drew University