Islam in Europe

This conference was opened by Jergen Nielsen (Centre for the Studyof Islam and Muslim-Christian Relations, Selly Oak Colleges,Birmingham, United Kingdom), who discussed "Muslims in Europe intothe Next Millennium." After a brief account of earJy Muslim migration toEurope, viewed as a migrant population from a "rival civilizationH or a"victim" of colonialism, he argued that the second-generation Muslimshave become more aware of colonial experiences than the parentgeneration. He attributed this ot their parents' rural background, wherepeople tend to be more illiterate and lack intellectual resources. Althoughone cannot make broad generalizations on recent trends, Nielsonmaintained that young Muslims in western Europe are disconnectingthemselves from ruraltraditional Islam and preferring a more intellectualinterpretation of Islam. Felice Das.setto (Universite Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)outlined the nature and scope of contributions made by anthro­ pologists, sociologists, orientalists, andpolitical scientists to the study of Muslims in western Europe in "The Stateof Research on Islam in Eupero." Dassetto pointed out that the orientalists'methods and theories failed to understand current themes, especially in thecontext of the Muslim presence in Europe. Universities became interested in studying Islam ...