NEW MUSLIM ELITES IN EUROPEAN CITIES AND THE POLITICS OF MUSLIM CITIZENSHIP

This article is based on fieldwork carried out among the representatives of new Muslim elites in Brusseles and London. It analyzes the main changes in the public mobilization of Islam in Belgium and Great Britain which involve slow departure from the politics of Muslim identity towards the politics of Muslim citizenship. This change is related not to the increased social pressure on Muslims in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 or July 7, 2005, but rather to the development of a strong sense of citizenship among some segments of the Muslim populations in Europe, and to the construction of a new type of identity, “Muslim citizenship”. The latter is characterized by strong support for national projects, social activity going beyond Muslim symbolic boundaries, an emphasis on the right to “similarity”, and responsibilities vis-à-vis other citizens without regard for their religious affiliation