Reaffirming a Western Islam by Fostering Western Muslim Civilizational and Cultural Belonging
摘要
In this chapter, I examine how the ideas of Gerard Delanty and Richard Bulliet pertaining to the relationship between “Islam” and the “West” can contribute to the affirmation of Western Muslims’ civilizational and cultural belonging. Drawing on the increasing visibility of Muslims in Western societies over the last three to four decades, I argue that both scholars offer important frameworks for understanding the interconnectedness between Islamic and Western civilizations that validate Western Muslims as key participants in the civilizational narrative of the West. Delanty and Bulliet’s ideas are discussed in the context of existing mechanisms, factors, discourses, agents, and processes that have been taking place within the Western Muslim communities over the last four decades that have aided the emergence and construction of a uniquely Western Islam. As such the main contention of the chapter is that the ideas of Bulliet and Delanty can be employed to broaden the acceptance of the idea of a uniquely Western Islam both among non-Muslim and Muslim Westerners, ultimately challenging narratives that in various ways marginalize Muslim identities in Western contexts.