exploring muslim identities in europe & north america

Pierre-André Taguieff   is director of research at the French  National Centre for Scientific Research  in CEVIPOF. He is also a member of the  Cercle de l'Oratoire  think tank.Taguieff is the author of a number of books and papers on racism and antisemitism, including  The Force of Prejudice: On Racism and Its Doubles  (2001) and  Rising from the Muck: The New Antisemitism in Europe  (2004).

"ISLAM AND NATIONALISM". A new book series from Palgrave Macmillan. Series editors Umut Özkırımlı and Spyros A. Sofos - Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University. International Advisory Board includes (in alphabetical order) Seyla Benhabib, Sondra Hale, Deniz Kandiyoti, Saba Mahmood, Jorgen S. Nielsen, James Piscatori, Gayatri C. Spivak, Bryan S. Turner, Peter van der Veer, Nira Yuval-Davis and Sami Zubaida. One of the main objectives of this series is to explore the relationship between Islam, nationalism and citizenship in its diverse expressions. The series intends to provide a space for approaches that recognize the potential of Islam to permeate and inspire national forms of identification, and systems of government as well as its capacity to inspire oppositional politics, alternative modes of belonging and the formation of counterpublics in a variety of local, national or transnational contexts. By recognizing Islam as a transnational phenomenon and situati...

The French Conseil d'Etat considered back in May that a total ban of the face veil in France would present serious constitutional risks and could not rest on any sound juridical foundation.           Burqa : le Conseil d'Etat écarte l'interdiction - kewego Une interdiction totale du port du voile intégral en France présenterait de sérieux risques constitutionnels et ne pourrait trouver aucun fondement juridique incontestable, estime le Conseil d'Etat.     Keywords: voile intégral nijab burqa musulman conseil etat loi interdiction                 Video from bfmtv    

Aygül Özkan, the 38-year-old daughter of Turkish migrant parents, was sworn in as Social Affairs Minister in Lower-Saxony last Tuesday thus becoming the first minister of Turkish origin in Germany. Her appointment constitutes a breakthrough in other ways too, as she is a member of the Christian Democratic Party that, despite its claims to the contrary, has been ambivalent insofar as the integration of Germany's Turkish community into the mainstream is concerned.  And, indeed, just before her oath-taking ceremony, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, CSU, were embroiled in turmoil over Ms Özkan's call for a ban on crucifixes and other religious symbols in schools in an interview with news weekly Focus. 'Christian symbols do not belong in state-run schools. Public schools should be neutral spaces, free of religious symbols, for the same reason that headscarves are inappropriate', Özkan said. Despite the fact that the new minister was merely affirming German co...

The Sarkozy government's debates on national identity peddle the same old story about the enemy within – French Muslims by Faïza Guène   guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 January 2010 10.00 GMT The nationwide debate on national identity launched in November by Eric Besson , the minister of immigration, national identity, integration, and co-development, has now been raging for several weeks. I'm actually not that surprised by all of this – we have grown accustomed to these diversionary tactics used by the government, sort of like when a magician distracts you with a dove in order to better conceal the ace of clubs hidden up his sleeve. David Copperfield might as well go back to where he came from now that Nicolas Sarkozy's government is in place. Of course this isn't the first time that politicians have encouraged the public to think about empty questions on the eve of elections, in this case the regional elections scheduled for March 2010. They tried that old trick with...