We may have been surprised to learn of the large, indigenous Muslim population in Bosnia, but the events in Bosnia-Herzegovina have most tellingly highlighted the dilemma of Muslims living in western societies – both immigrant minority communities in North America, Australia and most of Europe and the European Muslims of the Balkans.
In this book, fourteen scholars examine the problems of cultural change facing minority Muslim communities in the west. They consider how Muslim minorities fulfil their religious rites and obligations, engage in social and community life and educate their young. They explore the sacrifices Muslims have to make and the price they have to pay to maintain or acquire a Muslim identity.
The authors provide an historical perspective for the Bosnian Muslims, explaining both their nationality and their Islamicity. They look at the acculturation of North American Arabs, Turkish minorities in Germany and Bulgaria, and Asian Muslim immigrants in Australia. They survey the state and health of Muslim communities in Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Australia, Canada and the United States, establishing the history of Muslim presence, the number of Muslims, the position of Islam in local law, and the predicted future of Islam in those countries. They report that while struggling with racism and issues of identity, Muslim immigrants want the west to know that they have come not only to live here, but to teach, to learn, and to live in peace and understanding with all their neighbours.