Abstract
Sweden has become obsessed with its Muslim population. Blogs, newspapers, TV shows, debaters, artists, politicians, interfaith activists, academics in the social science fields, school personnel, comedians, right-wing Christians and, of course, people with a Muslim family history are active participants in an endless discourse about Muslims. Integration, criminality, honour, sexism, undemocratic thinking, rape, nativity, radicalization, etc. - everything is given a Muslim angle. And, of course, Islam and Islamophobia are hotly debated issues. This is quite remarkable when the highest estimation of the number of people in Sweden with a Muslim family history is 400, 000, a mere 4.5 per cent of the total population of 9 million; there are roughly as many Muslims as there are schoolteachers in Sweden. Everyone has an opinion, though seldom a very informed one. This was not the case when I began studying Arabic, Islam and the Middle East in 1984. What has happened, and why all these strong opinions?.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Muslims in 21st Century Europe |
| Subtitle of host publication | Structural and Cultural Perspectives |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| Pages | 103-120 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781134004454 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780415497091 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |