the spiritual dimension of the association not
always evident. In this way many Muslim girls are
learning to participate in civil society. In some
European countries Muslim youth associations are
connected with other youth organizations (not only
religious ones) and they are working on common
themes (for example peace or human rights). In
1995 the JMF (Jeunes musulmans de France), the
YMUK (Young Muslims UK), and the SUM
(Sveriges Unga Muslimer) first promoted a network
of youth associations.Since 1996 several Muslim
youth organizations from different European coun-
tries have created the FEMYSO (Forum of Euro-
pean Muslim Youth and Student Organizations),
which is now a well-known INGO (international
non-governmental organization) composed of 37
associations. FEMYSO is a member of the Euro-
pean Youth Forum.
Diversity as a resource for
participation
In the present historical and political context of
global war and Islamophobia, Islam is often con-
strued negatively and thus stigmatized by others.
European Muslim youth identities are forged in
reaction to negative and essentialist representations
of both Islam and immigrants (Vertovec and
Rogers 1998). Some scholars have underscored the
exclusion and the social marginalization of these
youths (Khosrokahvar 1997) and interpreted the
proclaiming of their religious diversity as a reversal
of the stigma, as a sort of withdrawal to the com-
munity, and as a social rebellion against the social
majority. Recent studies have indicated the social
and political involvement of those young Muslims
who clearly express a desire to contribute to the
development of the European society to which they
feel they belong (Lathion 2002, Bouzar and Kada
2003). For these youths, religious identification
with Islam becomes a resource for participation in
civil society. This is expecially true for the girls who
wear the ™ijàband feel they are victims of an overt
western europe 799stigmatization due to their high level of visibility.
This level of recognition often leads to a sense of
responsibility for the girls who are ever more fre-
quently called upon by the society in which they
live to act as intercultural mediators and social bro-
kers, and to daily reconstruct new social bonds.
It is not only a question of demanding recogni-
tion of the right to diversity. It is also a request to be
considered as equals and to take part in the public
sphere in the development of social and political
projects in common with other citizens.
The information presented here is not intended
to be exhaustive, but rather to illustrate key issues
of the main social and cultural changes regarding
European Muslim girls. As with all changes there
are obstacles to be overcome in terms of the
European society, the families, and the religious
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