Stranger – Other – Muslim. On the Integration of Muslim Minorities in Europe (from an Anthropological and Cultural Perspective)

Abstract

The article aims to characterize the sources of conflicts and social tensions related to the presence of the Muslim minority in Europe. To achieve this goal, I intend to utilize a transdisciplinary strategy that will enable the comparison of research results emerging from political science and sociological studies, as well as cultural studies and anthropology. This approach allows for the formulation of new diagnoses. On the one hand, it makes it possible to describe the main integration strategies regarding the Muslim minority in Europe and shows their insufficiency and ineffectiveness. On the other hand, it reminds us that migration and ethnic issues are rooted in theoretical reflection, preceding the phenomena analyzed in empirical research. It also draws attention to hidden mechanisms that determine the tendency to ethnic isolation and describes cultural processes that may contribute to remodeling the relationship between Muslim immigrants and their social environment.