Appel à communications : Nohoudh Muslim Integration Conference, SOAS, Londres (Royaume-Uni), 05-06/11/2015 — LIMITE : 15/05/2015

Deadline for abstracts: 15 May 2015

Britain is a net host country for global migration. This has resulted in great diversity in the languages, faiths, traditions, cultural practices and identities that are represented in the multicultural fabric of British society. Current debate surrounding the issue of integration and the challenges that it presents has brought to the fore the need to re-examine the question of what constitutes an integrated and successful multicultural society.

SOAS is delighted to announce this new annual conference series on ‘Muslim Integration in Britain’, a collaboration between the Centre of Islamic Studies at SOAS and the Nohoudh Endowment for Development Studies. The Centre of Islamic Studies is an integral part of the School of Oriental and African Studies, and aims to promote scholarship and research in all areas of Islamic Studies. In addition to regular teaching and research, Centre activities include lectures and seminars, conferences, and occasional publications. The Nohoudh Endowment for Development Studies is an independent international trust, registered in the state of Kuwait, which seeks to engage with global issues facing Muslim cultures and societies. Nohoudh supports intellectual reform within Islamic thought via graduate study grants, international knowledge transfer partnerships and institutional links. This conference series has been funded by the generosity of Nohoudh.

The inaugural Muslim Integration in Britain Conference will commence with two crucial questions: what is integration?, and what is meant by Muslim integration in Britain? To this end, it aims to provide a forum for multidisciplinary research into the major issues at stake. Areas of discussion will include the historical context; integration and alienation; the role of national and international politics (civil and human rights, radicalisation and Islamophobia etc.) in the shaping of orientation and dis-orientation; normativity and diversity within the British Muslim community; and the framing of Muslim identities in Britain.

Proposals may be framed within (but need not be restricted to) the following areas:

Integration: terminology, theory, methodology and measurements

• Conceptualising integration
• Defining models of integration
• Research methodologies and measurements of social integration
• Measuring Muslim demographics: theoretical frameworks, methodology and the collection of data
• Developments in the study of integration

Migration, history and politics

• Situating British Islam and Muslim institutions within the larger context of British and European history
• Migration, immigration and the economics of migration
• Social conditions of the British Muslim community: navigating education, ethnicity, employment, housing, and multi-racial / multi-cultural relations
• Social cohesion and vernacular cosmopolitanisms
• Political representation and challenges to Muslim participation in politics
• Integration experiences
• Interfaith relationships and dialogue

Integration and alienation

• Orientation and dis-orientation (spatial, intellectual, political, emotional, aesthetic, etc.)
• Civil and human rights
• Islam and ‘social contract’
• Foreign policy and war
• Alienation, moral panic, security and social trust: their effects on racial and ethnic identities in the British Muslim community
• Racial and religious discrimination and Islamophobia
• Extremism, radicalisation and counter-terrorism
• The enduring influence of British politics, culture and religion on the British Muslim community and the British Muslim community’s influence on British society

Normativity and diversity

• Assimilation and diversity: religious authority and authenticity in the intellectual and religious heritage of British Islam
• The institutionalisation of British Islam and the role of Muslim organisations in defining and facilitating Muslim integration
• Islam and new British national identities (Muslim and non-Muslim)
• Islamic law and finance in Britain
• Inter and intra sectarian collaboration within the British Muslim community
• British Muslim youth culture

Framing Muslim identities

• Muslim identities: ‘what kind of Islam?’ – the various types of Islam that constitute Muslim identities in Britain
• Islam and Muslims in the media
• Social media and the internet
• Muslim journalism and film, TV, literary and artistic contributions to British society
• Local histories and family histories

Submission of abstracts

The deadline for abstracts is 15 May 2015. Abstracts of up to 500 words and a short bio (of up to 200 words) should be submitted in MS Word format by email attachment to muslimintegration@soas.ac.uk. All applicants will be notified of the status of their proposals by 30th June 2015.

Presentations of papers should be 20 minutes long (full papers should not exceed 8,000 words and should be submitted, in full, prior to the Conference by the 1st of October), and will be followed by 5 minutes for questions.

Further Information

Timetable

15th May 2015   Abstract submission deadline
30th June 2015 Paper acceptance notification and panels announced
1st October 2015 Full paper submission

Registration (free) is required for this conference.

It is Centre of Islamic Studies policy to reimburse speakers for their standard travel expenses, hotel accommodation and board.

It is envisioned that select conference proceedings will be published in a dedicated volume.

If you would like further information on the conference, please revisit this page which will be updated on an ongoing basis.

For general enquiries, please contact the conference administrator at muslimintegration@soas.ac.uk

For academic enquiries only contact Professor M.A.S. Abdel Haleem at ha4@soas.ac.uk