8 - Why would Muslims Study Theology to Obtain an Academic Qualification?

Summary

Introduction

Islam is not limited to one particular region or centre, grounded by its ‘intrinsic universality’ which Islam shares with Judaism and Christianity (Hirschkind 2001: 3). Consequently, there is an acceptance that it can be ‘entirely re-territorialised’ (Kahani-Hopkins and Hopkins 2002: 288), and thus the practice of faith becomes fundamentally imperative to discussions around Muslim identities in Europe. Over the last seven decades or so Europe has experienced a significant influx of migrants and refugees, huge numbers of whom are predominately from the Middle East and Africa who identify themselves as Muslims. In fact, according to the PEW Research Center, the Muslim share of the European Unions’ total population as of mid-2016, was estimated at 25.8 million (4.9 per cent of the total population), up from 19.5 million (3.8 per cent) in 2010. With the high migration rates continuing, this figure is expected to increase to 14 per cent of Europe's population by 2050 (PEW Forum 2010, 2017). Changes in religious profiling and the recording and analysis of their religious behavioural characteristics are different across various countries in Europe, and the levels of religious commitment or religiousness among the Muslim population also differ. Other factors such as differences in fertility rates, the size of youth populations and people changing their faith also need to be taken into account (PEW Forum 2015). Nonetheless, there is a growing body of research noting an increase in the prominence of religion as a key marker of identity, particularly when religious groups are positioning themselves within a secular environment (Hashemi 2009: 2). Although this sense of religious identity can influence Muslims both ‘positively and negatively’, it has raised anxiety in Europe. There is now an increase in discourse around the ‘Muslim question’ (Norton 2020: ix), and the term ‘Muslimness’ is often used in research literature. This comprises three categories: a person's own understanding of their Muslim identity; their association with the larger Muslim community – ummah; and the ‘visible display’ or ‘practice of commitments’ to their faith within society (Shah 2019: 344).

Despite religious identity profoundly shaping the daily lives of some Muslims residing in Europe, for whom it is a crucial link to their ‘sense of belonging and self-worth’ (Modood 2005: 31), for other Muslims regarded as ‘secular Muslims’ (Panjwani 2017: 601), it may not be so salient.