The public sphere and Muslim identities

Abstract

The historical and contemporary development of certain informal and formal articulations of Muslim social and political identities and forms of associations in Muslim-majority and Arab societies has facilitated the emergence of a public sphere and limited the coercive power of state authority. This article suggests how a greater focus on religious ideas and forms of association can enhance the concepts of the publics sphere so that it better accounts for developments in these societies and in European societies themselves.