The Market of Religions in Europe:Governments still get it wrong

In Europe, migrant-origin Muslims are approached by their countries of origin not simply as relatives but also as a means of influencing European politics. Alongside reproducing the community ties, a primary venue for these countries to exert influence in Europe is that of religious repertoires. The countries with ethnically or nationally marked diaspora communities in Europe, such as Turkey and Morocco, export their official religions through theology programs, state-funded mosques, government-backed religious organizations, and charities. Meanwhile, the ideologically and economically self-confident states without a nationally defined community in Europe, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, target the same migrant-origin communities to spread a more transnational message, be that in the form of (post)Wahhabi-Salafism or Muslim Brotherhood. Beyond this well-known state-level power politics, less hierarchical and more decentralized religiosities arise among Muslims. Some go for the spiritual, mystical, or esoteric aspects of religion, some prioritize faith-related ethical questions, and others integrate non-religious ideologies in circulation into their religious beliefs (e.g., the vegan Muslims quoting al-Bukhari to argue that animals should never be killed). In this saturation of the religious field, migrant-origin Muslims’ socialization at mosques funded by their countries of origin is far from representing a clear-cut process of religious indoctrination. However, their changing needs and interlocution processes with non-Muslims and Muslims of different origins in Europe are overlooked both by the sending states and the receiving states.