Legal Integration of
Islam: A Transatlantic Comparison
by Christian Joppke
(Author), John Torpey (Author)
The status of Islam in
Western societies remains deeply contentious. Countering strident claims on
both the right and left, Legal Integration of Islam offers an empirically
informed analysis of how four liberal democracies―France, Germany, Canada, and
the United States―have responded to the challenge of integrating Islam and
Muslim populations. Demonstrating the centrality of the legal system to this
process, Christian Joppke and John Torpey reject the widely held notion that
Europe is incapable of accommodating Islam and argue that institutional
barriers to Muslim integration are no greater on one side of the Atlantic than
the other.
While Muslims have
achieved a substantial degree of equality working through the courts, political
dynamics increasingly push back against these gains, particularly in Europe.
From a classical liberal viewpoint, religion can either be driven out of public
space, as in France, or included without sectarian preference, as in Germany.
But both policies come at a price―religious liberty in France and full equality
in Germany. Often seen as the flagship of multiculturalism, Canada has found
itself responding to nativist and liberal pressures as Muslims become more
assertive. And although there have been outbursts of anti-Islamic sentiment in
the United States, the legal and political recognition of Islam is well
established and largely uncontested.
Legal Integration of Islam
brings to light the successes and the shortcomings of integrating Islam through
law without denying the challenges that this religion presents for liberal
societies.
