This edited volume explores various facets of Muslims civic engagement in Western post-secular societies, fundamentally challenging simplistic boundaries between Islamic ethical conduct and liberal-democratic norms and practice.
Bringing together scholars from sociology, anthropology, and Islamic theology, the collection offers sound theoretical and empirical elaborations on the complex ways in which Islamic piety, principles and norms interact with, and shape, Muslims everyday practice of volunteering as a performance of active citizenship in liberal societies.
The contributions cover diverse manifestations of Muslim volunteering in North America, Europe and Australia, from environmentalism to mental health volunteering, and critically examine the national and global socio-political context within which certain forms of Muslims civic engagement are viewed with skepticism and suspicion. It will be of use to students and scholars across sociology, political science, community studies and Islamic studies, with a focus on migrant integration, diaspora studies, and inter-ethnic relations.
Mario Peucker is Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities at Victoria University, Australia.
Merve Reyhan Kayikci is Post-doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Semitic Studies at the University of Granada, Spain.
1. Muslims Volunteering in the West: An Introduction; Mario Peucker and Merve Reyhan Kayikci.- 2. Theologization of Volunteerism: An Islamic Perspective; Zuleyha Keskin and Salih Yucel.- 3. Volunteering, Charitable Work and Muslims: Divine Inspiration, Parallel Networks and Facts on the Ground; Thijl Sunier.- 4. Why Do Muslims Engage in Intra-community Volunteering? Insights From a Multi-method Study in Australia; Mario Peucker. - 5. Charity as Civic Participation for Dutch-Turkish Muslims; Yaz Cebecioglu.- 6. In Between Two Traditions: Female Muslim Volunteers in Belgium; Merve Reyhan Kayikci.- 7.Muslim Environmentalists, Activism, and Religious Duty; Rosemary Hancock. - 8. When Trauma and Citizenship Intersect: British Muslims Volunteering for Mental Health Services; William Barylo. - 9. Muslim American Youth and Volunteerism: Neoliberal Citizenship in the War on Terror;Sunaina Maira. - 10. Conclusion; Merve Reyhan Kayikci.
