Why the West Fears Islam
An Exploration of Muslims in Liberal Democracies
Jocelyne Cesari
Paperback Aug 2013 – 9781403969538
Hardback Aug 2013 – 9781403969804
About the book
Are Muslims threatening the core values of the West?
Jocelyne Cesari responds to this question by presenting testimonies from Muslims in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Her book is an unprecedented exploration of Muslim religious and political life based on several years of field work in Europe and in the United States. It provides original insights into the ways Muslims act as believers and citizens and into the specifics of western liberalism and secularism, particularly after 9/11. It shows how the visibility of Islam in secular spaces triggers western politics of fear. Its unique interdisciplinary scope allows for an in depth analysis of data polls, political discourses as well as first hand interviews, and focus groups with Muslims.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Shari’a, Burqa, and Minarets: What Is the Problem With Muslims in the West? An Exploration of Islam in Liberal
- Muslims As the Internal and External Enemy
- Islam: Between Personal and Social Identity Markers
- Multiple Communities of Allegiance: How Do Muslims Say ‘We’?
- Religiosity, Political Participation, and Civic Engagement
- Securitization of Islam in Europe: The Embodiment of Islam As an Exception
- How Islam Questions the Universalism of Western Secularism
- Salafization of Islamic Norms and Its Influence on the Externalization of Islam
Conclusion: Naked Public Spheres: Islam within Liberal and Secular Democracies
About the Author
Jocelyne Cesari, is a political scientist, specializing in contemporary Islamic societies,
globalization and democratization. She is Senior Research Fellow at the Berkley Center
for Peace, Religion and World Affairs at Georgetown University. At Harvard University,
she directs the international research program called “Islam in the West.” She has written
numerous articles and books on Islam, Globalization, Democratization and Secularism in
Western and Muslim-majority contexts.
Her most recent publications include Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States (2007),
Muslims in the West After 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law (2010), The Awakening of
Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity and the State (2013).
Praise for the book:
“This book is an eye-opener that denies all sides the luxury of willful ignorance or
unchallenged ideological projection. Bold, sophisticated and almost embarrassingly
informative, Jocelyne Cesari’s effort is certain to elevate the discourse around one of the
most important relationships of our time: that between Muslims and their Western
compatriots.” – Sherman A. Jackson, King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture, The
University of Southern California, and author of Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking
Towards the Third Resurrection
