Muslim diaspora and European identity: The politics of exclusion and inclusion

Abstract

This chapter analyses the presence of Muslims in the European Union. It is divided into three sections: The first section offers a brief historical account of the settlement of Muslim communities in the European Union and the formal advocacy of a European identity in response to various dilemmas deriving from their presence, the second section elaborates on what I call the four stages of interaction and, finally, the third section looks more closely at the politics of exclusion and inclusion. The chapter concludes by underlining that the presence of the Muslim diaspora in the European Union represents a growing concern both for the Muslims and Europeans, an aspect that further questions the relevance of the European Union's official motto 'united in diversity'.