This book centres on the key concept of diversity and relates it to the identity formation of Muslims. Muslim identity differs specifically within certain theological, social, political and regional circumstances and discourses. Considering the diversity of societies and the numerous factors contributing to the shaping of Muslim identity, this book brings together examples from different parts of the world, including Western societies, and each chapter focuses on separate determinants of individual, communal, political, institutional, civic and national Muslim identities, offering a blueprint for identity studies. A particular strength of the book is its detailed investigation of the complexity of identity formation and the heterogeneity of the Muslim experience. In addition to including a variety of themes and cases from different parts of the world, diverse methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative research methods, further enrich the book. The contributors’ academic backgrounds and organic relationships with their communities enable them to develop their arguments with insight. Furthermore, by giving voice to academics from different nationalities, this book reflects neither a predominantly Western nor a distinctly Eastern approach, but instead gives a balanced view from critical academia globally.

This survey of the literature on the development of nationalism in Muslim countries also examines the status of the ummah in Muslim nation states as well as activities of Muslim nations through the OIC.

This book represents a contribution to the studies of Muslim minorities, and can be compared and contrasted to the analysis of Islam in Europe and in the USA. Besides presenting data about the largest Muslim community in Latin America, an area of the globe that is still ignored by those who study the “Muslim diaspora”, this book contributes to the understanding of religious dynamics in minority contexts, as well as issues involving integration of immigrants.

The Isma'ili Muslims, a major sect of Shi'i Islam, form a community that is intriguing in its deterritorialized social organization. Informed by the richness of Isma'ili history, theories of transnationalism and globalization, and firsthand ethnographic f

This reprint presents a global and multidisciplinary approach towards the cultivation of Muslim identities in various socio-political, cultural and geographical contexts. It draws on empirical case studies conducted on Muslim communities in Britain, France, Pakistan, Turkey and Australia. The covered topics include: the identity of Deobandi ulama in contemporary Britain; Muslim loyalty and identity formation in France; the cultural identity of Jafari Shi'is in Turkey; religious attire among male Tablighi adherents in Pakistan; and the question of intra-Muslim dialogue among Australian Muslims. This reprint provides profound insights into how Muslims navigate socio-political pressures and Islamophobia to break stereotypes and assert their religiosity in diverse political settings. The contributions underscore and challenge important questions regarding Muslim loyalty to non-Muslim states, the treatment of Muslim minority groups by governments, the status of intra-Muslim relations, and non-discursive expressions of identity through religious attire.

The volume brings together a variety of scholars both inside and outside of Islamic Studies in order to grapple with such questions as: what, if anything, is unique about Islamic Studies?

This book, based on extensive original research in the field, analyses the political, social and cultural implications of the rise of Islam in post-Soviet Russia. Examining in particular the situation in Tatarstan and Dagestan, where there are large Muslim populations, the authors chart the long history of Muslim and orthodox Christian co-existence in Russia, discuss recent moves towards greater autonomy and the assertion of ethnic-religious identities which underlie such moves, and consider the actual practice of Islam at the local level, showing the differences between "official" and "unofficial" Islam, how ceremonies and rituals are actually observed (or not), how Islam is transmitted from one generation to the next, the role of Islamic thought, including that of radical sects, and Islamic views of men and women's different roles. Overall, the book demonstrates how far Islam in Russia has been extensively influenced by the Soviet and Russian multi-ethnic context.