Islam and Turks in Belgium, 1st ed. 2020 Communities and Associations New Directions in Islam Series

Drawing on qualitative research conducted in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders, Islam and Turks in Belgium examines the interdependence between Muslim community and association.

With a focus on social groups, religious structures and circles within Turkish populations, this book demonstrates how communal and associative movements operate through a combination of relationships of proximity and distance. Proximity is a way in which Muslim organisations establish religious, social, and cultural ties with communities. Distance, on the other hand, takes into account social, historical, and political elements from abroad, and refers to the relationship with the Muslim world more broadly. As this reciprocal web of relations gives rise to Islamic mobilisations, it leads to the emergence or persistence of different figures of authority within associations and communities who articulate traditional, charismatic, and bureaucratic legitimacies.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of the sociology of religion, migration, race, ethnicity and Islamic studies. 

Provides a clear analysis of the religious networks of Turkish origin communities in Belgium

Makes a significant contribution to research on religious mobilisation in diasporic communities

Demonstrates how local-level analysis as crucial in understanding how Islam takes shape in different settings, contexts and periods