Muslim Volunteering in the West: Between Islamic Ethos and Citizenship

This edited volume explores various facets of Muslims’ civic engagement in Western post-secular societies, fundamentally challenging simplistic boundaries between Islamic ethical conduct and liberal-democratic norms and practice. Bringing together scholars from sociology, anthropology, and Islamic theology, the collection offers sound theoretical and empirical elaborations on the complex ways in which Islamic piety, principles and norms interact with, and shape, Muslims’ everyday practice of volunteering as a performance of active citizenship in liberal societies. The contributions cover diverse manifestations of Muslim volunteering in North America, Europe and Australia, from environmentalism to mental health volunteering, and critically examine the national and global socio-political context within which certain forms of Muslims’ civic engagement are viewed with skepticism and suspicion. It will be of use to students and scholars across sociology, political science, community studies and Islamic studies, with a focus on migrant integration, diaspora studies, and inter-ethnic relations.