Description
Book SynopsisChristian Joppke and John Torpey show how four liberal democracies—France, Germany, Canada, and the U.S.—have responded to the challenge of integrating Muslim populations. Demonstrating the centrality of the legal system to this process, they argue that institutional barriers to integration are no greater on one side of the Atlantic than the other.
Trade ReviewThis short but engaging and provocative work provides an overview of the legal interaction of Islam with the liberal state in France, Germany, Canada, and the U.S.… According Joppke and Torpey, compared to their European counterparts, Muslims in the U.S. are more educated and wealthier and, hence, less challenging to the larger non-Muslim communities. This book’s strength is its analysis of the two European cases, where the focus is on law and the legal integration of Islam into the existing constitutional structure. -- H. Shambayati * Choice *
This is a valuable contribution to the comparative analysis of Islam in western liberal societies. It is written in a lively and engaging manner, which is no small feat for a work that deals with complex legal issues. The book's treatment of these issues never comes at the expense of its engagement with matters of broad public concern. -- Rogers Brubaker, University of California, Los Angeles
A sober, nuanced, and rigorously researched study of how four countries approach Islam in politics and, in particular, law. It recognizes that Muslim immigrants create particular challenges, but is in no way hysterical or pessimistic about these states' capacity to address them. It is a provocative book that will attract a wide readership and generate much debate. -- Randall Hansen, University of Toronto
