A poem by Ejaz Rahim in honor of Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand

The following is a poem by Ejaz Rahim, one of the most prominent public intellectuals and poets of Pakistan, in honor of Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand. It demonstrates the deep impact the Prime Minister’s love and compassion have had on the Muslim world.

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Journey into Europe named in The Star Tribune as a “great summer book picked by the experts, your Twin Cities librarians”

Saad Samatar, Hennepin County Library

Muslim refugees escaping from civil wars, poverty and religious fanaticism in the Middle East and Africa have made Europe their home. “Journey Into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity” is a fascinating and well-researched book by scholar and writer of Islam Ahmed Akabar. The author captures the historical significance of Islam in Europe and describes contemporary Islamic identities. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics and relationship between the Europeans and Muslim communities.

To see the entire list, click here.

Journey into Europe featured in Newsweek’s “50 Coolest Books to Read This Summer: 2018’s Best Fiction and Non-Fiction (So Far)”

Journey Into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity, by Akbar Ahmed (Brookings Institution Press) Ahmed’s study of European reactions to Islamic immigrants is more anthropological than political, but it offers fascinating insights into how white Europeans struggle to reconcile outsiders, and how Muslim communities end up reinforcing negative stereotypes. The bigger takeaway, though, is evidence of the harmonious relations that existed between Islamic and European civilizations throughout the past—a potent argument against rising nationalism and tribalism.

To see the entire list, click here.

Journey into Europe: An antidote to the Clash of Civilizations – Jocelyne Cesari, Al-Bilad

In the eyes of most Europeans, Muslims have come to represent fanaticism, fundamentalism, and female suppression, subjugation and repression. Antidote to such an alarming trend is the most recent book of Akbar Ahmed, Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity.

It is an original and unique contribution to the expanding literature on Islam in Europe for several reasons. First, as an anthropologist, Ahmed breaks away from the usual solitary work of the researcher consigning his observations into a notebook. Instead he works in team with young scholars of different ethnic and religious backgrounds who offer fresh and diverse perspectives on the situation at hand.

Second, this team work is a great asset for presenting the diversity of Muslim voices in Europe, while most of the essays or scholarship on the topic tend to shed light on one particular group at a time.

To continue reading, click here.

Ambassador Ahmed to launch Journey into Europe at SOAS, University of London on May 24 at 6:30pm

Being Muslim in Europe Today: Building Bridges in an Age of Uncertainty

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Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Lord Bhiku Parekh, and Professor Stephen Hopgood

Date: 24 May 2018 Time: 6:30 PM

Finishes: 24 May 2018 Time: 8:00 PM

Venue: Brunei Gallery Room: Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre

Type of Event: Book Launch

Join Ambassador Akbar Ahmed as he discusses his new book, Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity. The fourth in a quartet of studies examining relations between the West and the Muslim world, Journey into Europe explores Islam in Europe and the place of Islam in European history and civilization on the basis of fieldwork spanning the length and breadth of the continent. Ambassador Ahmed will be joined by Lord Bhiku Parekh and the event will be chaired by SOAS Pro-Director Professor Stephen Hopgood.

Ambassador Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. He belonged to the senior Civil Service of Pakistan and was the Pakistan High Commissioner to the U.K. and Ireland. He has also taught at Harvard and Princeton Universities and holds a PhD in Anthropology from SOAS.

Lord Bhikhu Parekh is Emeritus professor at the Universities of Hull and Westminster. He is the author of several widely acclaimed books including A New Politics of Identity (2008) Rethinking Multiculturalism (2000) and recently Debating India: Essays on Indian Political Discourse, published by Oxford University Press, India. He is the recipient of the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Political Philosophy, BBC’s Special Lifetime Achievement Award, and Padma Bhushan from the President of India. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, past President of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Member of the House of Lords.

Registration: Free but registration required. To register, please click here.

Organiser: South Asia Institute

Contact email: ssai@soas.ac.uk, alumni@soas.ac.uk

“A Hopeful Vision for the Future of Islam in Europe” – David Frum, The Atlantic

Akbar Ahmed was born a subject of the British Raj. He devoted his career to building a modern Pakistani state, accepting some of his government’s most dangerous jobs, including political commissioner in the tribal agency of Waziristan. He rose to represent Pakistan as its high commissioner in the United Kingdom. Since retiring from government, he has taught at American University in Washington, D.C., where he has written books and produced documentaries about Islam’s place in the modern world. His newest book, Journey into Europe, is the culmination of years of study of the Muslim migration northward, which has accelerated dramatically since the Syrian Civil War. Ahmed and I have debated the impact of this migration for years. We continued the conversation recently over a long written exchange.


David Frum: You are promoting a new book, about Islam in Europe. As so often in your intellectual career, you perceive potential harmony where others see mostly conflict. Terrorism in the name of Islam has claimed many lives in Europe over the past two decades—and the reaction to mass migration from the Islamic world is shaking the politics of the continent. Meanwhile much of the Muslim world seems to be turning away from the liberal values that have defined Europe since 1945. You see this especially in Turkey, once a candidate for entry into the European Union, now an increasingly authoritarian and religiously chauvinist state. Why are you so hopeful?

Akbar Ahmed: There have been too many deaths due to Muslim acts of terrorism—though more like hundreds rather than thousands—and undoubtedly Islam is now a highly debated “hot” issue in Europe today. As a social scientist who rests his analysis on field research and facts, I am concerned about the potential for violence and conflict in the future. But as a humanist with faith in the pluralist legacy that exists in Europe, I have hope that with wisdom, compassion, and courage, the leaders of Europe will be able to guide the continent through this difficult time.

To continue reading, click here.

A Powerful Letter from Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in response to Journey into Europe and our launch at American University

April 11, 2018

My dear friend and great example,

I am writing to say thank you so much for the invitation to be with you and our other friends at the University last month. It was a wonderful program, and I was pleased to have the chance to be one of the participants. I am also truly delighted with the copy of your extraordinary book. I have already begun reading it, and I find that it is hard to stop — it is fascinating and a most important document for all those who want to find peace in the mercy and compassion of God. Thank you for doing it. You and your team will be blessed by many, many people as more and more have a chance to learn of the extraordinary studies that you have made at a time of great internal crisis for the world and of great courage for those who are giving leadership for peace and happiness.

I look forward to seeing you again soon, and I thank you for the extraordinary gift from an extraordinary team. I know you will be more things like this, because it is clear to me that the world needs studies of this kind and leadership like your own.

With every good wish and my best regards to your team and your family, I am

Your devoted friend,

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick

Archbishop Emeritus of Washington

 

Muslim identity in Europe – Taimur Shamil, The News

Former ambassador Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University Washington, D.C. He is former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland. Professor Ahmed is named “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam” by the BBC. He is the author of several books on Islam and Muslim identity and has written extensively on Muslim identity in the West.

In his recent book, Journey into Europe, Akbar explores Islam’s journey into Europe while elaborating the roots of two different identities; Islam and Europe. He tries to find out if these two distinct identities, Muslims and European, are compatible?

In the words of Noam Chomsky, who praises Akbar’s latest book, “His latest study, based on direct research with a group of young scholars, explores the complex interfaith reality of Europe, both in history and today, from an Eastern perspective, reversing the familiar paradigm. It is sure to be yet another influential contribution, one greatly needed in a world riven by conflict and misunderstanding.”

To continue reading, click here.

Journey into Europe featured in the New York Times “11 New Books We Recommend This Week”

JOURNEY INTO EUROPE: Islam, Immigration, and Identity,by Akbar Ahmed. (Brookings, $34.99.) Ahmed, a renowned Pakistani scholar and diplomat, gathered a team of researchers to interview Muslims across Europe about their situation. “This, I felt, was Europe’s ticking time bomb,” he says. In her review, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian writes: “The fundamental message of ‘Journey Into Europe’ is that throughout history, Islamic and European civilizations have often been not just compatible, but complementary. It’s crucial to acknowledge their shared past to reject today’s resurgent tribalism.”

To see the entire list, click here.

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Amb. Ahmed to deliver lecture at Harvard University on Friday, April 13 at 3pm

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