Muslim Identity in a Turbulent Age

Mike Hardy CMG OBE is Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Peace, Trust and Social Relations at Coventry University. Fiyaz Mughal OBE is Founder and Director of Faith Matters and Tell MAMA, two NGOs that work for interfaith dialogue and against anti-Muslim hate crime. Sarah Markiewicz is a researcher on dialogue initiatives, both interfaith and within faith communities at the Department of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology, Humboldt University of Berlin.

Hardy, Mughal, and Markiewicz believe the core Islamic identity to be in flux. Muslims search for identity amid an internal struggle for unity in the Muslim world, increases in anti-Muslim hate crimes outside the Muslim world, and continued media portrayals of violence, tyranny, and extremism; the authors observe that it can be difficult for today's Muslim, or non-Muslim, to truly comprehend what Islam is. This book takes up the Amman Message, a statement issued by the king of Jordan in 2004 that calls for tolerance and unity among Muslims, and offers a variety of perspectives from Muslims, Christians, and others about the place of Islam in Western culture and the role that communities of faith can play in pursuing peace. The collection includes a truly diverse array of voices and, consequently, the various contributions vary in quality and impact. However, the work as a whole is a valuable starting point for education, dialogue, and efforts at reconciliation. As Muslims battle over what 'true Islam' is and is not, and anti-Muslim sentiment in the West rises in both frequency and intensity, this book could not be timelier. This accessible, on point, and very useful collection will serve peacemakers at various levels and respects their varying points of view. (Jan.)

• Acknowledgements. Foreword by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales. Foreword by HRH Prince Hussein bin Abdullah. Timeline. Introduction. 1. The History of the Amman Message and the Promotion of the Amman Message Project. Sarah Markiewicz, Research and Teaching Associate, Department of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. 2. Taking the Amman Message to European Audiences: A Message for Muslims and Non-Muslims Alike. Mike Hardy, CMG OBE FRSA, Founding and Executive Director, Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University, UK. 3. Islam in Europe and the Amman Message: Overview Challenges and Potentials. Rebecca Catto. Assistant Professor of Sociology, Kent State University, Ohio, USA. 4. Islam in the United Kingdom and the Impact of the Amman Message. Fiyaz Mughal, OBE FCMI, Founder and Director, Faith Matters, UK. 5. Young British Muslims: Online Extremism and the Message of Islam. Imran Awan, Associate Professor in Criminology, Birmingham City University, UK. 6. The Amman Message: An Early Confrontation with Extremist Islamic Movements. Jamal Al-Shalabi. Professor of Political Science, Department of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Hashemite University of Jordan, Jordan, 7. The Amman Message: A Counter Narrative to Islamic Fundamentalism. Moh'd Khair Eiedat, Professor for Political Science, Al-Hussain Bin Abdullah II Faculty for International Studies and Political Science, and Director of the Al-Farabi Centre for Culture, Ethics and Politics, University of Jordan, Jordan. 8. The Amman Message as an Invitation to Interfaith Dialogue: A Christian Response. Christine Seeberg, Research and Teaching Associate, Department of Systematic Theology and Dogmatics, Theological Faculty, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. 9. Charlie Hebdo and the Amman Message: A Counter Narrative to Violent Fundamentalism? Steve Rose, Freelance Writer and Journalist, UK. & Faith Matters. 10. The Amman Message 'Other': Repositioning Identity Politics for Dialogue and Justice. Kristin Shamas, Hamra Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of History, University of Oklahoma, USA. 11. Looking Forward: An Impossible Road? Mike Hardy, Fiyaz Mughal and Sarah Markiewicz. Appendix I: The Amman Message (2004). Appendix II: The Three Points of the Amman Message (2005) [Official Version]. Further Reading. The Contributors.