The scholarly contributors to this volume investigate various means to stimulate and facilitate reflection on new social relations while clarifying the contradictions between religious and social affiliation from different perspectives and experiences. They explore hindrances whose removal could enable Muslim children and youth to pursue equal participation in political and social life, and the ways that education could facilitate this process.

Islamic Sufism in the West This book is a study of the phenomenon of Islamic Sufism in the West, which first began by adopting a universalist philosophical form with the Universalist Order of 'Inayat Khan. Its goal was to be in keeping with the intellectual and political landscape prevalent in the West in the early twentieth century, which used to see Sufism as disconnected from the Islamic religion. This view quickly came into conflict with the reality of Muslim Sufism which appeared with the foundation of the Western branches of the Darqawiyya Shadhiliya. The Western Shadhiliyya tariqas and their different branches took a leading role in changing the understanding of Sufi thought prevalent in the West and directed it and gradually moved it towards its true Islamic basis. One of the most conspicuous of these is the Western branch of the Habibiyya Darqawiyya order which originated in Morocco and brought to the West, particularly the Anglo-Saxon world, the Moroccan form of Sufism based on three elements: the Maliki school in fiqh - based on the practice of the people of Madina, the Ash'arite creed in theology - to which the people of the Sunna and Community hold - and the Path of al-Junayd in Sufism. Aziz EL Kobaiti Idrissi, Ph.D. Professor of Arabic Language and Sufi Literature at the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, he is the author of four books about Islamic Sufism in the West and Sufi Literature. He has participated in many international conferences in Morocco, the United States, Egypt, Spain, South Africa, Germany, and Macedonia. He is also the organizer of many sufi gatherings and conferences inside and outside Morocco.

In this volume, the authors attempt to speak freely about the potential in religions both for violence and peace. I am confident that many impulses from this work will also impact the direction of churches and other religious communities, such that religions, all together, will try to mobilize the members of their communities to actively contribute to world peace. In this way, religions will be perceived as part of the solution for world peace, enabling them to move beyond the stigma of their damaged reputations.

Whether formally incorporated into curriculum and teacher training or informally integrated in contexts such as state or NGO initiatives dealing with resolving social, ethnic, and religious conflicts, peace education is increasingly recognized as a critical component in addressing violence in contemporary plural societies. Peace education can constructively undertake a reframing of historical narratives while inspiring practical community activities. An important, but insufficiently studied and theorized aspect of peace education is the role of religion. The challenge to peace education in today's globalized, diverse, mobile, and religiously pluralistic world is to be able to take both complex global and distinctive local situations into account. The contributions to this integrative collection of essays provide exactly these local and global perspectives on the state of peace education and its relationship to religion across pedagogy and curriculum, state policies, and activism within societies on the front lines of resolving internal conflicts, whether historical or recent, that often reflect aspects of religious identities.

This volume features chapters by international experts in education, sociology, and theology who consider a range of challenges faced by educators in primary and secondary schools that are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of the ethnic and religious backgrounds of pupils. From the non-religious, to the refugee, to student fundamentalism and even radicalization -these multiple, fresh approaches analyze the dynamics of the changing pedagogical landscape in an age of ever increasing globalization and cultural plurality. Today's classrooms are often the most crucial spaces where children and adolescents encounter new cultural, religious, and other worldviews. Increasingly, teachers are called on to empower their pupils with the tools and competencies necessary to reflect on and process this plurality in ways that are productive for their intellectual growth and moral maturation. Regional case studies provide extensive data while offering insights into developments in school settings across Europe, in Turkey, and in the United States. In addition, a number of the contributions address the delivery, content, and policies of Islamic Religious Education in European contexts, the educational strategies employed in multi-religious societies, and interreligious dialogue in schools, whether intentional or spontaneous.

Religious and ethnic diversity have become crucial and pressing concerns in Europe: in particular, the presence of Muslims, their integration, citizenship, and how to deal with the influx of refugees. Can we draw on the resources of religions and their leaders for models of peaceful coexistence or do religious identities constitute obstacles to cooperation and unity? This volume treats "Islam, Religions, and Pluralism in Europe" based on a 2014 conference in Montenegro. Experts analyze Islam and Muslim issues as well as Christian perspectives and state social policies. Case studies drawn from Western and Eastern Europe including the Balkans, constructively review and interrogate diverse theological, philosophical, pedagogical, legal, and political models and strategies that deal with pluralism.