The recent focus on European Islam has sparked an interest in establishing representative Muslim networks that seemingly span the continent of Europe. However, unifying European Muslims onto a single political platform has largely been an elusive process for Europe's Muslim communities. The image of Muslim representation in Europe has been aided by international organisations, such as the European Council for Fatwa and Research, whose prestigious network of esteemed scholars purportedly address the concerns of western Muslims, while acting as one of the few representative voices of European Islam. Although this image of a unified ‘European Islam’ would indeed, at first glance, appear to be an impressive accomplishment for Europe's Muslim communities, it is not the outcome of local efforts by European Muslims at the grassroots level. Rather, organisations like the European Council for Fatwa and Research are the result of a top-down approach intended to project an image of European Islam. This has shaped the development of Muslim communities in countries, like Ireland, where transnational influences have promoted the vision of a globalised Islam. Efforts to fabricate this image of European Islam have remarkably transformed Dublin into the seat of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, despite Ireland having one of the smallest Muslim populations in Western Europe. This chapter will explore the role of external influences on the construction of the image of European Islam and on the notion of Muslim representation in Europe, with particular reference to the historical development of Ireland's Muslim community.

Introduction, questions and the limitations of the study

The degree of political integration of minorities in a society is a significant indicator of the ‘health’ of a democracy and social cohesion. Political integration is of great importance to feelings of belonging and shared identity. The inadequate political integration of minorities can potentially lead to social division, parallel societies, mutual distrust and conflict. In Denmark, the level of political participation and integration of Muslim minorities has been an issue of public debate for at least the last decade. In contrast to the debate in countries like France and Germany, the debate in Denmark has been less about formal voting rights for non-nationals or the establishment of a Muslim council with whom the government can discuss issues of special concern (although these issues have come up). Rather, the debate about political integration of Muslim minorities in Denmark has been driven by general concerns about the level of Muslim trust in and acceptance of Danish political institutions – their willingness to engage in democratic procedures and adhere to the fundamental values and principles of liberal democracy when doing so. An element of this debate has concerned the degree to which Danish society and majority institutions should accept and adapt to growing ethno-cultural diversity. In the context of the ‘value struggle’ launched by the right-of-centre government, which took office in 2001, the social and political integration of Danish Muslims has been questioned with reference to Muslim parallel institutions (schools, kindergartens, organisations, etc.), ghetto formation, and a lack of commitment to democratic principles and liberal values such as freedom of speech and gender equality.

Introduction: setting the stage

The 2009 local council elections in the German State of North-Rhine-Westphalia brought about a significant innovation: for the first time citizens with a migration background came to the fore as founders of local voter associations. Among these newly founded voter associations, the Bündnis für Frieden und Fairness (Confederation for peace and fairness, BFF) stands out for two reasons: first of all, because it immediately won two seats on the city council, although it was founded only two months prior to the elections. Secondly, it is unusual because it was founded exclusively by Muslims. This fact triggered attention by media far beyond the local scope and raised fierce debates about the legitimacy of such a political organisation.

This chapter argues that while the emergence of these new political actors can be explained by looking at political and social structures and discourses, the astonishing success of the BFF can only be explained if we take into account both structures and individual agency, considering both as forces for change in a reciprocal and iterative process (Moser 2006: 69). A structurationist approach has therefore been chosen for the analysis at hand. It will be presented in detail in the following section. A third section then outlines the main characteristics of the German political field which frame immigrants' political participation on the one hand and Muslims' political participation on the other hand.