The Anthropology of Islam in Europe: A Double Epistemological Impasse

Abstract

This article reviews the main trends in the anthropological scholarship of Islam in Europe by examining this body of work through the lens of what I call a double epistemological impasse. The first impasse refers to the historical marking of Islam as Europe's Other, and the second one concerns anthropology's discomfort with the epistemological claim making of monotheistic religious traditions. The literature is organized into three key figures (the Muslim as migrant, as Islamist, and as ethical subject), and through these figures, this article attempts to unearth how this double impasse has affected and informed anthropological scholarship on Islam in Europe.