JOME 11.1 – The making of Islamic Authority in Europe

A new issue of the Journal of Muslims in Europe is out. It is a special issue edited by Thijl Sunier and Léon Buskens on Islamic authority-making among Muslim migrants in Europe. A list of the articles.

Authoritative Landscapes: The Making of Islamic Authority among Muslims in Europe: An Introduction

Authors: Thijl Sunier and Léon Buskens

Abstract
This special issue deals with Islamic authority-making among Muslims of migrant background in predominantly Western Europe. Religious authority is persuasive power in religious matters, regarding issues of knowledge and institutional competence, and of truth, authenticity, legitimacy, trust, and ethics. The seven articles in this special issue address some of the manifold ways in which Islamic authority comes about. They show that authority should not be reduced to the leadership or personal status of religious scholars and other religious professionals; it can also be attributed to bodies of knowledge, to institutions, to legal, ethical and material matters, and to events. Islamic authority is a crucial element in shaping Islamic landscapes in all their diversity.

Islamic Authority and Centres of Knowledge Production in Europe
Author: Masooda Bano

Abstract
The centrality of the Qurʾan and Hadith (reports describing the words, actions, or habits of the Prophet Muhammad) in Islamic teachings has resulted in a rich tradition of textual scholarship. Scholars trained in the major Islamic sciences at the leading centres of Islamic learning command a high degree of influence over how Muslims understand their faith. Yet the authority exercised by Islamic scholars is not only contingent on their demonstration of loyalty to the text but also depends on their ability to relate Islamic teaching to social reality. This article shows how the changing socio-economic profile and attitudes of second- and third-generation Muslim immigrants are marking a gradual shift away from textual literalism within Islamic centres of learning in Europe: scholars demonstrating an ability to relate Islam to European reality are gaining visible traction among young European Muslims.

Material Muslim Authority: Danish Debates about Religious Markets
Author: Johan Fischer

Abstract
The increasing visibility of halal (meat) products in non-Muslim countries, such as Denmark, highlights the central and controversial role of Muslim authority in the regulation/certification of halal products along two axes: Muslims/non-Muslims and divergent Muslim groups/organisations. Using qualitative data gathered through participant observation and interviews conducted at Muslim organisations and businesses in and around Copenhagen, I argue that halal production and regulation is a constructive lens through which to explore why and how Muslim authority and legitimacy are generated and contested in contemporary Denmark. Muslim authority within the halal market evidently emerges at the interface between local and international Muslim organisations/certifiers, the state and consumers.

Who Should I Trust and Follow? Young Dutch Muslims Online and the Dynamics of Islamic Authority-Making

Author: Dorieke Molenaar

Abstract
In this article, I argue that Islamic authority is being made between online and offline environments used by young Muslims, between religious experts and ‘laymen’. Youngsters try to find their way and mosques try to direct and inform Muslims about and through online sources and strengthen their online presence. This article analyses four online discussions between young Dutch Muslims of Moroccan descent on the forum Marokko.nl. These discussions about Islamic ideologies, imams and mosques show how the participants try to convince each other of their points of view. I intend to contribute to the ongoing debates on the relationship between religion and cyberspace, and particularly on how the construct of religious authority is mediated and negotiated among youngsters by zooming into and analysing some excerpts from their online discussions.

Religious Authority and Family Dispute Resolution among Moroccan Muslims in the Netherlands

Author: Arshad Muradin

Abstract

The article aims to provide an insight into how ‘ordinary’ Muslims look for workable solutions to family and marital disputes in line with their cultural and religious values. More specifically, it looks into the informal processes of reconciliation (sulh) with the assistance of imams of local mosques, primarily among Muslims with Moroccan roots in the Netherlands. Relevant questions that are addressed are: What types of disputes are settled within the (religious) community? Who are the authorities involved? How do they obtain, claim or create authority? Why do Muslim women and men choose these processes over formal litigation? What do they hope to gain from these processes? And what kind of solutions are offered to disputants?

Tafsir Studies and the Conundrum of Normativity

Author: Pieter Coppens

Abstract
Tafsir studies, due to its focus on reception history and tradition rather than on the origins of Islam, may be a locus of fruitful cooperation between the new field of Islamic theology and ‘regular’ Islamic studies that transcends the problematic dichotomy of insider/outsider perspectives. Redefining normativity as negotiating the future of Islam’s discursive tradition, arguably a shared concern of Islamic theologians and Islamicists, although their motivations differ, may be a way to further neutralise the conundrum of normativity in Islamic studies. I argue that ‘historically and sociologically informed normativity’ is the way forward for Islamic theology, and will make the field relevant beyond its own disciplinary boundaries.

Conjuring Karbala Online and Offline – Experiences of the ‘Authentic’ in Shiʾa majalis

Author: Aleeha Zahra Ali

Abstract
Majlis sermons are a cornerstone of Shiʾa ritual, and the online growth of this practice, mostly as videos, poses challenges for majlis preachers and audiences. This article explores Dutch Shiʾas’ experiences of majalis ethnographically and considers how they vary online and offline. Practitioners seek experiences of authentication in majalis – meaningful, truthful, emotional and legitimising experiences. Majlis preachers aim to create experiences of authentication. This text considers how such experiences occur through registers of authentication, explored as re-memory, embodiment and discourse. These registers are employed by preachers of the majlis sermon and recognised by audiences to produce highly affective religious experiences. However, online contexts pose challenges as ways of eliciting registers of authentication shift. This article describes these shifts to explore the implications for Shiʾa practices.

Tariq Ramadan: A Voice for Decoloniality in France and in Morocco
Author: Ellen van de Bovenkamp

Abstract
The dominance of social media has made religious authority temporary and fragmentised. Tariq Ramadan’s rise to fame in Morocco cannot be disconnected from the particular position he had in France as a controversial figure who spoke up for Muslims in many heated debates. Fieldwork in Morocco shows that the religious practices and points of view of fans of Tariq Ramadan bear similarities to those of youngsters in other countries. Although Islam is a shared interest, politics and postcoloniality play an important role in his popularity.

The article demonstrates the importance of engagement with social, cultural and political issues as an indispensable constituent of authority, and argues that Moroccan fans of Ramadan are sensitive to the manner in which he criticises postcolonial power structures. The need to deconstruct neo-colonial structures and discourses is felt by French and Moroccan Muslims alike.