82 Islam and Modernity
engendered had profound repercussions for the other aspect of globalised Islam,
the transnational communities.^23
The transnational communities are the products of extended migrations
in the latter decades of the twentieth century. The most interesting aspect for
our discussion is the settlement of Muslims in European and American cities.
There is now an extensive literature on Islam in Europe and in the West. These
individuals and groups are diverse by ethnicity (Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Turks,
Maghrebis, Africans, Arabs and so on), by class and occupation and by reli-
gious and political orientations. There is not a uniform ‘Muslim community’,
although communal leaders and some politicians would like to pretend that
there is, so that they can speak for it. Some of those Muslims, though, partake
of the notion of the universal umma, and this perception was strengthened by the
events following 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’, which has posed threats and dif-
fi culties for many Muslims in the West. Prior to these events the results of many
polls and studies in the various countries of Western Europe showed that about
70 per cent of Muslims were largely secularised, much like other Europeans,
with some becoming ‘cultural’ Muslims, celebrating festivals and observing rites
of passage. Of the observing 30 per cent, most were engaged in private piety and
were not political Muslims. Those who were politically active as Muslims con-
stituted a small minority, but a vocal one attracting sensational media attention.
Following 9/11 these orientations have undergone various mutations.^24 Many
more Muslims in Europe have developed religious sentiments and orientations
to the virtual universal umma. There is a sense of Muslim solidarity in the face of
a threatening world. A survey published in the British Guardian on 30 November
2004, found that 46 per cent of men and as many as 68 per cent of women
reported that they prayed every day, but it is, of course, diffi cult to know how
much of this self-reporting of piety is for media consumption.
In relation to politics most Muslims in Europe remain inactive. Those who
are active vary in orientation from the politics of their country of origin (espe-
cially marked among Turks) to the politics of the country of residence. Many
Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in Britain have become active in mainstream party
politics, with leading fi gures standing for public offi ce, as are many Turks in
Germany. Their concerns are mainly practical, to do with the distribution
of public goods, of education and of housing and policing, for instance. But
ideological issues, notably that of the hijab in France, have played an important
role. Questions of foreign policy have also come to the fore in recent years,
especially with the military interventions in Afghanistan, and then Iraq. With
numbers reaching upward of fi ve million Muslims in France and three million
in Britain, Muslims have become an important item in electoral calculations for
the parties.
A majority of European Muslims are disadvantaged, in the lower rungs of
employment and pay and disproportionately represented among the unemployed