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Students will learn the most important facts and principles of the history of Islam in Europe; they will acquire the ability to critically reflect on the relationship between Islam and Europe.

The presence of Muslims in Europe as permanent residents was unimaginable for Europeans until recent past. However, third and fourth generations of Muslims are born and raised across the old continent today. According to census reports of local governments, 14% of the population in Amsterdam are Muslims, Rotterdam and London have Muslim mayors since 2009 and 2016 respectively. Many other cities across Europe has remarkably high numbers of Muslim population.

In light of these data, this course will have roughly two halves and two aims:

The first half of the course (tells the story of the relations between Muslim societies and the people of the Old Continent. Chronologically, this first half provides an overview of the interactions and exchanges between the two worlds from the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the Ottoman modernization in the nineteenth century. The aim of the first half is to show students that the history of Muslim-European encounters is not simply a history of conflict. In fact, just as twenty-first century Europe is a safe home for millions of Muslims, the pre-modern Islamic empires were once sanctuaries for Christians and Jews.

The second half of the course  focuses on the present-day issues in Europe: In light of the most recent data and figures and with frequent references to the individual stories of many European Muslims, the second half of the course is designed to be a discussion platform about the circumstances and challenges surrounding Muslim lives in a modern and secular Europe.

The following are some of the questions that are broadly discussed during the semester:

– Are we today witnessing an unprecedented era in the relations between Islam and Europe?

– To what extent are the recent globally influential encounters and interactions between Europe and a large variety of Muslim actors a continuation of the past?

– Is the history of the relations between Europe worlds a story of conflict?

– In what areas did the two parties influence or contribute to each other’s development?

– Are the Muslim refugees who flooded Europe in recent years a new phenomenon in the Old Continent?

Lectures and discussion, based on readings of the students (ideally two books and one academic and one contemporary non-fiction about the broader course theme, “Islam and Europe.” in German or English)

Regular attendance, participation in discussion, individual assignments as for example book presentations

Ernst, Carl,  Following Muhammad: rethinking Islam in the contemporary world. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press 2003.

Ernst, Carl,  Mohammed folgen: der Islam in der modernen Welt. Göttingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; 2007

Hillenbrand, Carole,  Islam: A new historical introduction.  London: Thames & Hudson 2015.

Malcolm, Noel,  Useful Enemies: Islam and The Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought, 1450-1750.  Oxford: Oxford University Press 2019.

Matar, Nabil,  Europe Through Arab Eyes, 1578-1727. New York: Columbia University Press  2009.

Sonn, Tamar,  Is Islam an enemy of the west? Oxford: Polity Press, 2016.

Sudworth, Richard,  Encountering Islam: Christian-Muslim Relations in the Public Square.  London: SCM Press 2017.

Language skills desired, but not a prerequisite; reading of one of the following novels is expected: "Travnička hronika"/"Bosnian Chronicle"; "Na Drini ćuprija"/"The Bridge over the Drina"; "Prokleta avlija"/"The Damned Yard".