The Revival of Islam in the Balkans

This book shifts analytical focus from macro-politicization and securitization of Islam to Muslims' choices, practices and public expressions of faith. An empirically rich analysis, the book provides rich cross-country evidence on the emergence of autonomous faith communities as well as the evolution of Islam in the broader European context.

The Revival of Islam in the Balkans is a timely addition to the literature with its rich insights and innovative, path-breaking studies. the book is a must-read, and the exceptional editorial work makes it even more appealing and easy to follow. There is no doubt that this book will be a useful reference work on Islam and Islamic practices in general, and on the Balkans in particular. (Nikos Christofis, LSE Review of Books, blogs.lse.ac.uk, April, 2016)

The book under review The Revival of Islam in the Balkans is thus a welcome exposition of a much neglected subject. It will appeal principally to academics and tertiary students, especially those with an interest in anthropology, Eastern Europe, and religion. (Abdullah Drury, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, March, 2016)

The Revival of Islam in the Balkans offers further analysis of religious changes in the Balkans after communism. These particular studies represent valuable contributions to the subject due to their thorough identification and evaluation of crucial elements that have influenced the contemporary religious scene in the Balkans. This volume demonstrates that local Muslim communities have not only been able to reject foreign influences, but also to construct new methods to theoretically and practically defend their traditional practice. (Hazim Fazli, Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe, Vol. 36 (1), 2016)

The Elbasani and Roy volume focuses on the eastern Balkans, excluding the western states of former Yugoslavia, ascribing a special importance to Kosovo and Albania while also making room for Greece and Bulgaria. Elbasani-Roy contributors target an audience interested in the region's eastern section. (Vjekoslav Perica, Slavic Review, 2016)

These eight case studies are valuable contributions to a better understanding of Islam in the Balkans. From this standpoint, the editors of The Revival of Islam in the Balkans have succeeded in their bid to show the 'emerging mosaic of Islamic religiosity, defined here as the way an individual believer experiences his or her relation to religion and faith' and this makes the book an important one. (Xavier Bougarel, Suedosteuropa. Journal of Politics and Society, Issue 3, 2016)

This is a timely collection of essays in that it addresses what has been the major obstacle to the study of post-communist Islam in the Balkans . the book offers empirically rich chapters looking at the multivocality of actors speaking for Islam in the Balkans today. this volume is a milestone for developing robust comparisons of divergent socialist and post-socialist trajectories of Islam in the Balkans for years to come. (David Henig, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 68 (8), 2016)

Auteur
Arolda Elbasani, Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, Florence, Italy Cecilie Endresen, University of Oslo, Norway Julianne Funk, University of Zurich and Research Consultant for the Ecumenical Women's Initiative in Croatia Jeton Mehmeti, University of Prishtina and Senior Researcher at GAP Institute, Kosovo Andreja Mesari?, independent researcher based in London Laura J. Olson, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA Olivier Roy, Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, Florence, Italy Behar Sadriu, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK Alexandros Sakellariou, Panteion University, Athens, Greece Enis Sulstarova, University of Tirana, Albania Jelena To i?, University of Vienna, Austria Ksenia Trofimova, Russian Academy of Sciences Anna Zadro?na, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

Contenu
Acknowledgments
Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Nation, State and Faith in the Post-Communist Era; Arolda Elbasani
PART I: THE PREVAILING PUBLIC DISCOURSE ON ISLAM

1. Islam and Orientalism in Contemporary Albania; Enis Sulstarova
2. Anti-Islamic Public Discourse in Contemporary Greece: The Reproduction of Religious Panic; Alexandros Sakellariou
3. Faith and Politics in Kosovo: The Status of Religious Communities in a Secular Country; Jeton Mehmeti
   PART II: MUSLIMS ' ' PURSUIT OF FAITH AND RELIGIOSITY
4. The Loudspeaker of Faith in the ' 'Calm ' ' City: Islam and Urban Diversity in the Contemporary Balkans; Jelena Toi?
5. Muslim Women ' 's Dress Practices in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Localising Islam through Everyday Lived Practice; Andreja Mesari?
6. The Multiple Voices of Bulgaria ' 's Unofficial Islamic Leaders; Laura J. Olson
7. Love and Boundaries: Inter-Faith and Inter-Ethnic Relationships Among Macedonian-Speaking Muslims; Anna Zadro?na
   8.' 'Holiness ' ' Constructed: Anonymous Saints in the Popular Traditions of Muslim Roma Communities in the Balkans; Ksenia Trofimova
   PART III: RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, PUBLIC ARGUMENTS AND LEGITIMACY
8. Rhetorical Strategies of Kosovo ' 's Imams in the Fight for ' 'Women ' 's Rights ' '; Behar Sadriu
9. Public Expressions of Bosnian Muslim Religiosity and Lived Faith: The Cases of Friday Prayer and the Hijab; Julianne Funk
10. Faith, Fatherland, or Both? Accommodationist and Neo-Fundamentalist Islamic Discourses in Albania; Cecilie Endresen
    Conclusions; Olivier Roy
    Index