Muslims in the West

"I think it’s an interesting book because Yvonne Haddad is positive without forgetting to be critical. Her perspective is: “Let us see what is actually happening and not come with a vision that is completely negative about Muslims in the West, but at the same time let us ask the relevant questions.” This is a collection of different essays which try to show how much the relationship between Muslims and their environment and the societies in the West has evolved. They ask some very interesting questions about what is actually happening and there are contributions from within the Muslim communities in Europe, as well as from the outside, so I think it’s a good balance. Academics and people from within Muslim communities in the West. They acknowledge the dynamics within the Muslim communities in the West, but are also knowledgeable about the questions within. Their conclusion is that you need to go beyond fear and mistrust and look at what has been happening over time. This is what the subtitle is saying: “From Sojourners to Citizens”. It means that we now have Western Muslim citizens. This evolution is important. It’s not only an evolution in status, it’s an evolution in understanding. I think this is the starting point of the book. We have common challenges in North America and European countries. There are similarities when it comes to religious questions. But we have differences as to the nature, the stages and the origins of each of the Muslim communities. So the differences are important. This is important, and why I wanted to have this book first. The book talks about the very deep evolution that is happening. We cannot underestimate what happened in September 2001, but we have to be very cautious not to overestimate it. Many of things that were said about Muslims and their loyalties [in the aftermath of the attacks] were the same before September 2001. We had all these discussions in Europe and in the United States about the wearing of veils and headscarves before. What happened with September 11 is to add to a sense of insecurity and mistrust. These psychological factors are deeper now. I think Western Muslims have to deal much more now with negative perceptions and the questioning of their presence. But as to the deep historical experience, we have to be cautious about putting too much emphasis on its impact. Yes, there is more fear and there are more questions, but on the ground at a local level, things are moving in the direction they were already heading before 2001."