Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration and Identity explores the mighty continent of Europe by an academic whose origins lie in the Third World. Professor Akbar Ahmed, one of the renowned scholars of Islam, reverses the longstanding tradition of scholars from the Global North studying the Global South.

Professor Ahmed divides the book into three parts. Part I analyses the fundamental character of European society and its various identities; Part II dwells on the Muslim communities in Europe and elucidates their place on the continent; and Part III reflects on the major challenges the continent is facing and offers some incredibly prudent solutions to deal with them.

At the outset, the author juxtaposes the ideas of the twentieth century German sociologist, Max Weber, and those of the fourteenth century Arab sociologist, Ibn Khaldun, and critically examines European identity from their perspectives. He argues that Weber’s works, which evaluate societies on the parameters of modernity, fail to explain the recent developments in Europe, whereas Ibn Khaldun’s theories, which talk of tribal traditions and codes, perfectly sum up the state of affairs on the continent today.

Central to the analysis of Ibn Khaldun, the book highlights, was the nature of tribal society, which is defined through shared bloodlines and bound by what he called asabiyyah, or social cohesion. The book argues that the rise of right-wing politics across Europe is a sign of the re-emergence of the tribal nature of its society, which means that Ibn Khaldun provides the right framework for understanding the direction in which Europe is moving.

It highlights the predominance of the German culture and identity on the European continent and lucidly explains concepts such as Volk, Heimat, janteloven, and hygge that reflect what the author calls “Primordial Tribal Identity” among Germanic peoples. It is argued that these are the precise concepts that take predatory forms and target minorities when the continent is hit by economic and political instability, as is happening now.

The book also addresses, in great detail, “European Pluralistic Identity.” While doing so, the author elaborates the history and legacy of Muslim-ruled Andalusia, where knowledge and learning were highly regarded, and women and religious minorities were deeply respected. It highlights how ilm, or the Qur’anic instruction to seek knowledge, came to characterize the culture of Andalusia. As a result of what the author refers to as the “ilm ethos” of the erstwhile Andalusians, the region developed a pluralistic and inclusive culture, which in Spanish is called la convivencia, or coexistence.

This section of the book is particularly noteworthy as it underlines the direct, causal relationship between the ilm ethos and convivencia. The author rightly points out that “the urge to reach out to God through knowledge, which is embedded in the ilm ethos, is thus translated into an embrace of God’s creation irrespective of racial, religious, or class differences, which may be defined as convivencia.” It reminds us of the importance we need to give to understanding each other’s faith traditions if we want to do away with the conflict and intolerance that our world is today enduring.

The second part of the book explores the distinct Muslim communities of Europe, which are categorized as Muslim immigrants, indigenous Muslims, and Muslim converts.

The discussion over the condition of Muslim immigrants in Europe clearly refers to the stark difference between the character of British and French colonialism, and thereby the status of Muslim immigrants in these countries, the vast majority of whom have origins in their respective former colonies. It is diligently highlighted in the book that although both these countries, which exemplified European imperialism, have histories of atrocities against their colonial subjects, imperial Britain had a relatively inclusive approach which allowed its subjects to find a place and grow in British society while retaining their own identity with integrity; whereas, there was no such possibility for the French colonial subjects. As a result, while there are a number of immigrant success stories in all spheres of British public life, such as Baroness Sayeeda Warsi in politics, Sir Mo Farah in sports, Salman Rushdie in literature, and Abdus Salam in science, it is not possible to find Muslims excelling in such diverse fields in France.

With regards to the indigenous Muslim population of Europe, the book offers its readers a window into the native yet marginalized and forgotten Muslim communities of the continent. The author revives the memory of the horrific genocide against Bosnian Muslims in the early 1990s and quotes a very pertinent question by the former Mayor of Srebrenica, Camil Durakovic, as to whether the European response to it would have been as lethargic as it was if the Bosniaks had not been Muslims.

The social and economic conditions of other marginalized indigenous Muslim communities such as the Turks of Greece and Bulgaria, the Pomaks, and the Albanians; and the forgotten communities like the Tatars, the Roma, and the Cham are also fairly addressed in the book. Despite their long history of loyalty and service to their motherlands, they are not considered as part of the Volk in the nationalist, tribal imagination of Europe.

“The continent that centuries ago launched the crusades against the Muslim world and later colonized it is now, ironically, providing Islam with a new lease of life” (p. 306).

This sentence brilliantly encapsulates the significance of Muslim converts in Europe. At a time when referring to Islam as a religion of barbarity has become a norm, thousands of Europeans, especially women, are wholeheartedly embracing it:

“… Europeans approached the subject of conversion to Islam with intellectual seriousness and careful reasoning. They are in the tradition of the European philosophers in their quest for truth and meaning. … Their conversion is invariable a mixture of head and heart. It should also be noted that European primordial identity – which has reservations regarding morally vacuous materialism, consumerism, and globalization and defines differentiated roles for men and women – finds an echo in the attraction many converts feel toward Islam today” (p. 306).

The final part of the book deals with a range of matters of crucial importance, such as the effect of European primordial identity on Muslims and Jews, the impact of the repugnant terrorist group ISIS on the lives of European Muslims, and the imperative for convivencia on the continent.

This section of the book discusses in great detail how Jews were persecuted, and Muslims appreciated, throughout Europe’s history because of the typical attitude of primordial tribal identity towards religious and ethnic minorities. This attitude has been reflected in the works of German philosophers like Johann Gottfried von Herder. Herder believed that only those who lived in their own lands with the people of their own ethnicity and shared the same cultural traditions were deserving of respect, and therefore he disparaged the Jews for relocating to Europe and admired the Arabs for continuing to live in their original homeland in the deserts of the Middle East.

However, Ahmed notes that the establishment and the rise of the State of Israel has been a formidable force on European politics and perspectives. Simultaneously, the unabated chaos in the Middle East and the consequential refugee crisis have resulted in the dramatic reversal of relationships. Although anti-Semitism is still rife within European right-wing movements, the general European view of Jews, who are now settled in their homeland, is mostly positive; whereas even moderate Europeans view the Muslim community, who have been dislocated from their homelands, with suspicion.

A careful and comprehensive analysis has been done by the author on the issue of ISIS and the support that it garnered from some sections of European Muslims, which is reflected in the fact that over 5,000 of them travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the terrorist group. He argues “that supporters of terrorism are not monolith, and their paths to terrorism are different,” and divides “these Muslims into three categories: those immigrants with a tribal background, those with a modernist Islamic background, and European converts.”

The author gives a set of different reasons that these Muslims had/have for their support of the dreaded terrorist group. For instance, for those with a tribal background where taking revenge is part of the culture, marginalization, constant cultural humiliation, and an utter lack of opportunities in Europe drove some of them to seek revenge through terrorism. For those with a modernist Islamic background, the inability of elders to engage in serious intellectual debates meant they tried to find answers on the Internet, where some ended up reading literature posted by radical groups. Lacking proper guidance about their new faith and its doctrines, new European converts were not taught how to eliminate discrimination and injustice against their new fellow brothers and sisters in faith. In their efforts to find guidance, some were radicalized.

Ahmed’s book also points to the very important fact that support for ISIS is high in places where Islamophobia is high, and it is low where Islamophobia is low. It notes that given Southern Europe has some memory of convivencia and as a result has low Islamophobia, no European Muslims who travelled to the Middle East to join ISIS came from this region.

Based on the fieldwork findings, Professor Ahmed concludes his book with ten immensely valuable solutions. These are meant to contain the crisis that seems to be engulfing Europe. The first among them is reviving the ilm ethos and seeking knowledge about one another, which is extremely close to my heart.

Ahmed’s book is a must-read not only for students of anthropology and sociology but also for the decision-makers, in Europe and beyond.

Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration and Identity
By Akbar Ahmed
591 pages, hardcover
Brookings Institution Press (February 27, 2018)
ISBN: 978-0815727583

Lofland and Skonovd (1981) distinguish six types of conversion patterns-intellectual, mystical, experimental, affectional, revivalistic, and coercive. Of these six, the patterns most common among the 70 converts to Islam studied for this paper, are intellectual, affectional and experimental. The affectional pattern (which may be defined as ‘example and imitation’) and the intellectual pattern (‘response to teaching’) cover the most significant characteristics of conversion to Islam, usually accompanied by the experimental pattern (‘trying it out’). Mystical and coercive patterns were also found though the latter is extremely rare. The revivalist motif, in which the individual undergoes highly emotional stimulation, was non-existent.

The intellectual pattern was found in 50(71%) cases. The affectional and experimental motifs also played a role in conversion, but these individuals revealed how scepticism about their previous beliefs and their intellectual discovery of the ‘logical consistency’ of Islam prompted their conversion. The affectional motif was dominant in 46 (66%) cases who cited personal contact with Muslims as an important factor. These Muslims, whose opinions or behaviour are valued, offered living examples of the Islamic faith, attractive to those with whom they came into contact. Some converts had been most affected by the Islamic concept of brotherhood. Others were deeply affected through periods of stay in Muslim countries where they saw how the religion can really influence the society.

No matter what the motivating factors, the majority of converts went through a period of ‘experimentation’. 42 (60%) came to Islam after studying or spending a considerable amount of time among Muslim friends, families, or in Muslim countries. As well as getting information and impressions from Muslims, and reading about Islam, they visited mosques and attended meetings and even joined the prayers to see and try it out for themselves. 10 (14%) converts reported having a mystical experience before they decided to embrace Islam.

As for the most important motivating factors, the converts cited response to the teachings of Islam with regard to religious beliefs, moral and social issues, and the spiritual aspects of Islam (see chart). 

The converts entered Islam by various paths and for a variety of reasons. Some accepted it after long study, some in order to marry a Muslim, or after marrying a Muslim. Whatever the reasons and purposes of their choice to convert, conversion rarely happened without human contact. All but 9 converts had been in contact with Muslims in one way or another over a long period of time before they made their decision. It is, therefore, suggested that personal contact with an adherent of Islam is nearly always a contributory factor in the conversion of individuals to the faith. However, it must be emphasized that converts were already oriented towards a religious quest, and then found intellectual satisfaction with what was offered to them.

The overwhelming majority of the converts speak of a gradual process involving conversation with Muslims, reading of the Qur’an, and/or other Islamic literature, and in some cases journeying to Muslim lands. 16 (23%) people’s first contact with Islam was through literature. 16 (23%) people were first introduced to Islam when they travelled to a Muslim country. 26 (37%) reported they first knew about Islam through conversations with Muslims. 10 (14%) came into contact with Islam through male/female relations. This included 3 female converts who followed their English husbands’ conversion while 2 had one of their family members or a relative convert to Islam (see chart).

Conversion age

Early studies, at the turn of the century, of converts to or within Christianity found conversion to be primarily an adolescent phenomenon (Starhuck, 1911, p.38 Hall, 1920, pp.288-92). By and large this trend seems to continue today (Argyle, 1958, p.61). In contrast to studies of conversion within Christianity, studies of conversion to contemporary religious cults indicate that conversions take place at a later age, in the late teens or early 20s (Ullman, 1989, p.110).

The conversion age for Western converts to Islam presents a striking contrast. In fact, Poston’s (1992) questionnaire study of European and American converts to Islam found the average conversion age to be 31.4 years. The average conversion age for the English converts to Islam is 29.7; ranging from 15 to 61 with the vast majority falling into the 23-45 year- old age group.

In Britain less than 15 percent of the population attend church each week. Over half of those who attend at the age of 13 have ceased to do so by the time they are 20. Furthermore, by school leaving age, very few young people still claim any allegiance to the Christian churches (Francis, 1984, p l0). This is, in fact, what most of the converts to Islam experienced in their late adolescence. Some had been religious in their pre-adolescent years, but this religiousness had disappeared, in part because they had been taught at secondary school, or by society in general, to think rationally about religious matters. They then lost their capacity for religious experiences, and Christianity lost its plausibility for them. They became restless with the religious tradition of their family or society, questioning critically its intellectual, moral and religious adequacy. Tony, 17, bitterly criticized the society:

‘This society doesn’t make you know about religion. It is wrapped up in the wrong way of life; just working, sleeping, drinking. Religion is not mentioned to people. I went to a Christian school. They taught us we came from apes. That’s the evolution they believed in, not God. So it was a Church of England school believing in Christianity … their own church made us believe in evolution, whereas evolution is about not believing in God. My age-group now is being taught nothing about religion at all. So this society just wants to bring you up not to live in God or not to worry, just to think about the world.’

Adolescence was the age that the future converts to Islam began questioning the application of their religion in the larger society, or looking for answers to life’s basic questions, or raising questions about the basic creeds of the religion they were taught to believe in in childhood. Again, it was in adolescence that they attempted to fashion a consistent personal code of moral behaviour in a changing culture of uncertain values. Yet it was not in adolescence that they converted to Islam. If we take the figure of 16 years as the age of conversion in a Christian context and 29 for the present sample, this gives over 10 years during which time the person was neglectful of religion or was experimenting with other alternatives. This period may well be explained by Erikson’s concept of a ‘moratorium period’. Erikson observed that many adolescents struggling with the integration process opt to ‘retreat’ for a period of time in order to work out a plan of self-reorganization or integration without disturbance from mundane realities (Erikson, 1962: 43-4). During the ‘moratorium period’ most adopted secular identities by which they accomplished integration without resort to conversion, and some tried to explore other alternatives. Yet this was only a temporary and perhaps incomplete integration, as they eventually searched for a religious alternative. As one convert put it:

‘They let the religious thing lie asleep’ at the back of their minds for a few years.

Conclusion

Conversion is necessarily a multifaceted experience, and it is obvious that not all conversions are of the same type. However, conversions to Islam are usually a complex and gradual process which is prepared by individual conditions over a long period. They are voluntary; not the result of a sudden resolution of spiritual conflicts but, generally, conversions of adults often oriented to points of doctrine. In the light of this study, a process model for English converts to Islam may be outlined as follows:

Firstly, for the religious conversion to occur, the individuals must have rejected the religion and values presented by parents or society in early or late adolescence and enter a period of ‘moratorium’ that lasts several years. At the end of this period they must still he experiencing disillusionment with the old religion and the society at large. During this period they must have either cognitive concerns, sometimes leading to a search for answers from other religions or emotional distress resulting from personal problems like divorce which in the end leads to contemplating religion as the possible answer. Apparently, because of the earlier dissatisfaction with the old religion, the possibility of returning to it is ruled out. By the end of the first stage, the individuals must have something in their background experience that makes them in some measure sensitive to the message of Islam. 

Secondly, by this stage the new perspective (Islam) must be available. The potential converts must encounter Islam through social relationships (this could he through pre-existing ties like marriage or chance encounters), and mass media or any other available source of information. Affective ties to Muslims, though not always necessary, are usually developed. The individual must he favorably affected by the good example of Muslims or by the ethos of Muslim institutions (as they are perceived), and at the same time question the truth of Islam, eventually accepting it.

Thirdly, the individuals go through a preparational period. Before announcing conversion, the individual has to play the role of convert by gradually learning some practices of Islam, and adopting a life-style which becomes a part of a new self-definition. The potential convert investigates the acceptability of the religion, to test it out through an ‘experimental’ orientation to it, rather than blindly embracing it without considerable thought. The decision to convert is therefore rightly characterized as intellectual’, the end result of a deliberate choice made after careful examination and consideration, as opposed to one stemming from a purely emotional response.

English converts have been the topic of a recent research. The research was based on formal interviews with 70 converts; 50 males and 20 females. Their ages range from 17 to 66 years. The major objective of this research was to observe and record the conversion phenomenon of English converts to Islam and to provide the reasons underlying them. The research endeavoured to understand the psychological and sociological roots of conversion, to find out converts’ background, and the conversion processes they went through. For this end the whole lifespan of the converts was examined.

Religion of Upbringing

English converts seem to have come from families where there was no strong identification with any religion. They mostly come from families that did not belong to a church, or, were not active participants in a church. Most describe their parents’ connection with the church in terms of ceremonial attendance like weddings and funerals. When classified according to religion of upbringing 51(73%) of the 70 were Church of England; 12 (17%) were Catholics; 3 (4%) were Methodists; 4 (6%) were Jews. Significantly, 17 (24.3%) had parents religiously heterogeneous such as mother being Church of England and father Agnostic, or mother being Catholic and father Church of England. And 5 (7%) described one parent being atheist or agnostic. 36 (51.4%) said that they had ‘no’ or ‘weak’ religious upbringing. 20 (28.6%) answered ‘normal’ while only 14 (20%) described it as ‘strong’.

Religious Affiliation Prior to Conversion

Converts were quite explicit concerning their general dissatisfaction with their previous religious beliefs. Only 8 (11%) mentioned that they were practising their religion of origin prior to conversion. 32 (46%) reported being nominal, weak or disillusioned with their old religion. 16 (23%) had no religion or were not interested in religion at all. And 14 (20%) were involved with a religious movement, such as Hare Krishna and Divine Light Mission, prior to conversion. As for ‘belief in God’, 58 (83%) reported that they believed in God, 9 (13%) lost their belief in God, while 3 (4%) were not sure if they believed or not.

As the above figures illustrate, it is interesting that for a significant number of converts’ rejection of the faith of their parents or culture did not imply a rejection of religion in general or loss of belief in God. 14 (20%) proceeded to explore other religious alternatives following their initial rejection of a particular faith. As for religious affiliations and belief in God prior to conversion, and what conversion meant for these people in terms of these areas, they may be classified into three groups:

1) Those who had no religious commitment for a long time or described themselves as nominal in their religion of origin. People who fall into this group form the vast majority (75%). For them conversion meant a religious intensification, not through the religion of childhood, but through a different religion.

2) Those who described themselves as religious for a long period of time, but became disillusioned later on and were on the brink of losing their belief in their religion prior to conversion. Around 12% fall into this group.

3) Those who lost belief in God after rejecting their religion. For them, conversion meant rediscovering belief in God and returning to the way of God. Around 13% fall into this category.

Wilson (1976: 19-21), in discussing the effects of secularization on modern society illustrates how moral control by religion gave way to modern society’s mechanical and bureaucratic devices, and how everyday life has been demoralized as human involvement in many areas of activity was replaced by technical controls. Arguing the decreasing role of the church in England, Wilson asserts that ‘people have what might be called an ‘office’ conception of the Church, a service facility that is well distributed over the land area of the country to be available when needed.’ The converts’ accounts confirm that over-secularization led them to seek an alternative way of life. They believe that Islam gave them a practical means of getting closer to God living a good life, and getting peace in ‘this secular environment’. They became interested in Islam in the first place because they felt that Islam has strong clear values on things they feel concerned about, not just the abuse of environment, but even things like homosexuality. Their revolt is not always directed against religious beliefs but against certain practices legitimized by Christianity and its Church. While giving their accounts on their previous life, the converts emphasized that they felt a need for a religion whereby they could orient their everyday life and they preferred Islam because it is a complete way of life not a compartmentalized religion confined to certain areas, as Sarah pointed out: ‘As an ex-Christian I now see Christianity as just a religion, but Islam, as I understand, is the way you live. It is a different approach. For instance, you can be a Christian and you can do almost everything, and you can say you are a Christian happily. But if you are Muslim, it is different, you are restricted in that matter.’

They felt that something was missing, and that was the influence of religion in their lives. Before coming to Islam they started criticising the existing religion and its culture and began having certain affinities and world views closer to that of Islam which eventually made a possible correlation between their views and Islam.

Some of those who were involved or became interested in new religions were in search of an alternative to the secular way of life with a strong reaction to the materialistic and secular perspective of the society. Garry, for example, became a Zen-Buddhist in a university when he came to believe that spirituality was lacking in the teaching system. Yet Garry found Zen-Buddhism monastic, not encompassing the social dimension of life. He said: ‘It could answer personal questions, but it couldn’t answer global questions.’

Socio-demographic Factors

Contrary to the assumption that most of the people who join an alien religion or so-called new religious movement are dropouts from society, converts to Islam can in no way be seen as such. On the contrary, their educational and work careers are quite normal. They achieved significantly higher levels of education than those typical for their population as a whole. 60 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree. Indeed, 20 percent had advanced graduate degrees. Converts to Islam tend to come from the middle class section of the society. 46 (66%) associated themselves with the middle class, while 24 (34%) identified with the working class. They seem to have a wide range of occupations which vary from taxi drivers to university lecturers. As for marital status, 40 people were single at the time of conversion. 23 were married or engaged (14 to Muslims, and 9 to non-Muslims), and 7 were divorcees.

Emotional and Cognitive Concerns

A significant number of the testimonials covered accounts on troubled lives before entrance into Islam. The pre-conversion life of nearly half of the converts (48.6%) was judged to contain emotional distress. For them this period of their lives seems to have led them to look for something. For one fifth of the sample the emotional turmoil that characterized their descriptions of their childhood and adolescence was also apparent in the immediate antecedents to the conversion experience. Their unhappiness was, in most cases, caused by parental marriages which either ended up in divorce or nearly broke up, and they described it as the major trauma of their lives. 13 (18.6%) divorced or had a broken relationship before conversion and this caused long-term emotional turmoil and anxiety. Some converts said that they were grateful to God to have experienced such distressful incidents because it was these events that sparked them into thinking about religion.

The conversion experience may be related to emotional turmoil or personal distress experienced in the immediate preconversion period. However, the accounts of the converts to Islam suggest that conversions did not occur as a direct result of the emotional turmoil or personal distress, although 34 (48.6%) reported emotional distress prior to conversion. It may be associated with conversion, but it is not necessarily a predisposing condition. In the preconvert there may be an unconscious conflict, and a psychological set, but these factors, alone, in many cases, are not enough. There must be a current force which lights the fuse. That fuse took the form of cognitive and existential questions. The course that the pre-conversion period takes in many cases is that the emotional turmoil or personal distress of the individual leads him to a stage where he develops cognitive concerns.

Cognitive quest, for the converts to Islam, contained concerns or preoccupation with political, social, and moral issues, and religious doubts. Existential concerns cover questions like ‘What is the meaning and purpose of my life?’, ‘How does one deal with the fact that he is going to die?’, and ‘What should one do about his shortcomings?’. 33 (47.1%) reported preoccupation with cognitive concerns. They reported feelings of aimlessness, lack of purpose or direction and meaning, and of incompleteness, which mainly arose out of cognitive and existential concerns. These people believe that the cognitive problems that used to bother them are met by conversion to Islam because it offered them a complete philosophy of life; it proclaimed the responsibility of man, a future life, and a day of judgement. It answered their questions like ‘What is man’s place in the universe?’, and ‘What is his relationship with the world around him.’ Cognitive quests also revealed ambiguities in one’s belief system. These ambiguities were anchored during adolescence, but revived later in life when one became actively involved in life situations and felt an urge to have a faith, or a need to return to religion. Until this stage of their life these people seemed not to have bothered about religion, but at this stage when these needs became more manifest they re-questioned their previous beliefs and as a result they either felt confused or they decided to give them up entirely. The ambiguities with regard to their previous religious beliefs, namely Christianity, centred around some basic concepts of Christianity and its theological implications such as Trinity, Jesus being the Son of God, original sin, atonement theory, and the intercession of the clergy. Some criticisms also focused on perceived hypocrisy in mainstream churches and their incapacity to lead the people in moral issues.

(to be continued)

References

• BALL, H. (1987) Why British Women Embrace Islam?, Leicester: Muslim Youth Educational Council.
• JOHNSTONE, P. (1981) ‘Christians and Muslims in Britain’, Islamochristiana, No.7, pp.67-99.
• MCHUGH, F. (1990) ‘Allah’s English Daughters’, Telegraph Weekend Magazine, 31 March, pp.34-S.
• WILSON, B. (1976) Contemporary Transformation of Religion, Oxford: Clerandon.