Pluriel

University platform for research on Islam

Initiated by
the Federation
of European
Catholic
Universities

Supported by
the International
Federation
of Catholic
Universities

Publisher : Routledge -

English

2012
208

Producing Islamic Knowledge: Transmission and Dissemination in Western Europe

How do Muslims in Europe acquire discursive and practical knowledge of Islam? How are conceptions of Islamic beliefs, values and practices transmitted and how do they change? Who are the authorities on these issues that Muslims listen to? How do new Muslim discourses emerge in response to the European context?

This book addresses the broader question of how Islamic knowledge (defined as what Muslims hold to be correct Islamic beliefs and practices) is being produced and reproduced in West European contexts by looking at specific settings, institutions and religious authorities. Chapters examine in depth four key areas relating to the production and reproduction of Islamic knowledge:

  • authoritative answers in response to explicit questions in the form of fatwas.
  • the mosque and mosque association as the setting of much formal and informal transmission of Islamic knowledge.
  • the role of Muslim intellectuals in articulating alternative Muslim discourses.
  • higher Islamic education in Europe and the training of imams and other religious functionaries.

Featuring contributions from leading sociologists and anthropologists, the book presents the findings of empirical research in these issues from a range of European countries such as France, Italy, the Netherlands and Great Britain. As such it has a broad appeal, and will be of great interest to students and scholars of Islamic studies, anthropology, sociology and religion.

Comment les musulmans en Europe acquièrent-ils une connaissance théorique et pratique de l’islam ? Comment les croyances, les valeurs et les pratiques islamiques sont-elles transmises et comment évoluent-elles ? Qui sont les autorités sur ces questions que les musulmans écoutent ? Comment de nouveaux discours musulmans émergent-ils en réponse au contexte européen ?

Ce livre aborde la question plus large de la façon dont la connaissance islamique (définie comme ce que les musulmans considèrent comme des croyances et des pratiques islamiques correctes) est produite et reproduite dans les contextes d’Europe occidentale en examinant des situations, des institutions et des autorités religieuses particulières. Les chapitres examinent en profondeur quatre domaines-clés relatifs à la production et à la reproduction du savoir islamique :

  • les réponses faisant autorité en réponse à des questions explicites sous forme de fatwas ;
  • les mosquées et associations de mosquées comme cadre de transmission formelle et informelle de la connaissance islamique ;
  • le rôle des intellectuels musulmans dans l’élaboration de discours musulmans alternatifs ;
  • l’enseignement supérieur islamique en Europe et la formation d’imams et d’autres fonctionnaires religieux.

Avec les contributions de sociologues et d’anthropologues de renom, l’ouvrage présente les résultats de recherches empiriques sur ces questions dans divers pays européens tels que la France, l’Italie, les Pays-Bas et la Grande-Bretagne.

Titre original : “Producing Islamic Knowledge. Transmission and Dissemination in Western Europe”

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