This book discusses the evolution of state governance of Islam and the nature and forms of local Muslims' rediscovery of their 'Muslimness' across post-communist Eurasia. It examines the effects on the Islamic scene of the political and ideological divergence of Central and South-Eastern Europe from Russia and most of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Of particular interest are the implications of the proliferation of new, 'global' interpretations of Islam and their relationship with existing 'traditional' Islamic beliefs and practices. The contributions in this book address these issues through an interdisciplinary prism combining history, religious studies/theology, social anthropology, sociology, ethnology and political science. They analyse the greater public presence of Islam in constitutionally secular contexts and offer a critique of the domestication and accommodation of Islam in Europe, comparing these to what has happened in the international Eurasian space. The discussion is informed by the works of such thinkers as Talal Asad, Bryan Turner, Veit Bader, Marcel Maussen and Bassam Tibi, and utilises primary and secondary sources and ethnographic observation. Looking at how collectivities and individuals are defining what it means to be Muslim in a globalised Islamic context, this book will be of great interest to scholars of Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology.

Introduces the centuries-old history of Muslim communities in Eastern EuropeThe history and contemporary situation of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe are explored here from three angles. First, survival, telling of the resilience of these Muslim communities in the face of often restrictive state policies and hostile social environments, especially during the Communist period. Next, their subsequent revival in the aftermath of the Cold War, and last, transformation, looking at the profound changes currently taking place in the demographic composition of the communities and in the forms of Islam practiced by them. The reader is shown a picture of the general trends common to the Muslim communities of Eastern Europe, and the special characteristics of clusters of states, such as the Baltics, the Balkans, the Visegrad states, and the European states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).Key FeaturesPlaces Muslim communities of Eastern Europe within their historical and pan-European context, establishing them as belonging in and to EuropeProvides an overview of the history and current trends in Muslim communities in 21 post-Communist Eastern European countriesAnalyses the situation of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe on a country-cluster basis (North-Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Moldova; the successor states of Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia; South-Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania; Central Europe: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia)Provides an overview of the emerging trends in conversion to Islam among Eastern Europeans

Introduces the centuries-old history of Muslim communities in Eastern EuropeThe history and contemporary situation of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe are explored here from three angles. First, survival, telling of the resilience of these Muslim communities in the face of often restrictive state policies and hostile social environments, especially during the Communist period. Next, their subsequent revival in the aftermath of the Cold War, and last, transformation, looking at the profound changes currently taking place in the demographic composition of the communities and in the forms of Islam practiced by them. The reader is shown a picture of the general trends common to the Muslim communities of Eastern Europe, and the special characteristics of clusters of states, such as the Baltics, the Balkans, the Visegrad states, and the European states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).Key FeaturesPlaces Muslim communities of Eastern Europe within their historical and pan-European context, establishing them as belonging in and to EuropeProvides an overview of the history and current trends in Muslim communities in 21 post-Communist Eastern European countriesAnalyses the situation of Muslim communities in Eastern Europe on a country-cluster basis (North-Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Moldova; the successor states of Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia; South-Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania; Central Europe: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia)Provides an overview of the emerging trends in conversion to Islam among Eastern Europeans