Why the West Fears Islam
Why the West Fears Islam

Why the West Fears Islam: New Book from Global Ethics Fellow Jocelyne Cesari

Aug 5, 2013

Are Muslims threatening the core values of the West?

Jocelyne Cesari examines this question through the lens of testimonies from Muslims in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Her book is an unprecedented exploration of Muslim religious and political life based on several years of field work in Europe and in the United States.

It provides original insights into the ways Muslims act as believers and citizens and into the specifics of western liberalism and secularism, particularly after 9/11, and how the specific constraints of Islam in secular spaces trigger a western politics of fear. Its unique interdisciplinary scope allows for an in depth analysis of data polls, surveys, political discourses, policy programs, interviews, and focus groups with Muslims.

This book is an eye-opener that denies all sides the luxury of willful ignorance or unchallenged ideological projection. Bold, sophisticated and almost embarrassingly informative, Jocelyne Cesari's effort is certain to elevate the discourse around one of the most important relationships of our time: that between Muslims and their Western compatriots. – Sherman A. Jackson, King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture, The University of Southern California, and author of Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking Towards the Third Resurrection

Published by Palgrave MacMillan, August 2013. Visit the publisher’s website to purchase using the 20 percent off promo code XP356ED. (240 pages; $20 paperback with promotional code.)Table of Contents

Introduction: Shari'a, Burqa, and Minarets: What Is the Problem With Muslims in the West? 1. Muslims As the Internal and External Enemy 2. Islam: Between Personal and Social Identity Markers 3. Multiple Communities of Allegiance: How Do Muslims Say 'We'? 4. Religiosity, Political Participation, and Civic Engagement 5. Securitization of Islam in Europe: The Embodiment of Islam As an Exception 6. How Islam Questions the Universalism of Western Secularism 7. Salafization of Islamic Norms and Its Influence on the Externalization of Islam Conclusion: Naked Public Spheres: Islam within Liberal and Secular Democracies

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