Muslim Transnational Identity and State Responses in Europe and the UK after 9/11: Political Community, Ideology and Authority

Abstract

Muslim youth in the United Kingdom have become the focus of significant scrutiny in the highly securitised environment that has surrounded discussions of Islam in Europe in recent years. The question of Muslim transnational identities and linkages has been of particular interest to this debate, although these phenomena are little understood in terms of their sociological formations. This contribution provides an account of the transnational dimensions of Muslim identity—focused on questions of political community, ideology and religious authority—by contextualising them within the broader field of contemporary Muslim transnationalism. Responses by the British state are also considered to be important factors that have inflected the dynamics of conversations within that country's Muslim community around issues of political identity and social cohesion.

Keywords:

• Muslim Transnationalism
• Immigrants
• Political Identity
• Islam in Europe

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Mandaville

Peter Mandaville is Associate Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs and Co-Director of the Center for Global Studies at George Mason University in Virginia