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Abstract
This article looks at Islam in contemporary Sweden in relation to civil society and the public space. Forms of Islam that advocate integration (‘Euroislam’) are promoted and accepted more easily by the majority population. The subject is set in the context of the decline of secularisation and of the return of religion. In the long run, this ‘return of religion’ to the public space leads to reinterpretations of religious traditions and also affects the impact of religion and the space that people can claim for it.
Notes
*A version of this paper was first presented at the conference ‘Muslim Diasporas: Religious and National Identity, Gender, Cultural Resistance’ at the University of Toronto, Canada, 1–3 June 2007.
1 There arises some ambiguity as a result of the use of terms such as ‘universal’ and ‘local’. It could be argued that ‘Blue-and Yellow’ Islam is as ‘local’ as Turkish or Somali Islam, and that ‘universal’ Islam is that variety espoused by fundamentalists who seek the establishment of a world-wide caliphate. The fact remains, however, that the proponents of ‘Blue-and-Yellow’ Islam speak of it as universal in the sense that it is adaptable to the conditions of the modern world. An example of such a universal view of Islam is that of Tariq Ramadan who discusses the possibilities of using Islamic jurisprudence in Europe. He argues that an essential juridical principle is that we are all responsible and that this makes it ‘clear that Islam allows us to consider its intrinsic possibilities for adaptation to space and time; that is to say, to accept and make ours what, within every civilisation or culture, does not contradict a clearly stipulated juridical prescription’ (Ramadan, Citation2004, p. 65).
2 The colour ‘Falu red’, widely used for painting houses, is regarded as typically Swedish.