Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the effects of colonialism and decolonization on Muslim migration to Europe. With French imperialism and West Africa as reference points, this study demonstrates that a peculiar relationship arose between ruler and ruled and addresses the broader implications of this historical development for European-Muslim relations today. Beyond its fears of terrorism as well as the added costs associated with providing social benefits to settled and migrant Muslim communities, a contingent of Europeans seeks that immigrants will adopt Western cultural traits which directly confronts Muslims who wish to retain their traditional Islamic lifestyles. Complexifying standard postcolonial analyses, this study highlights the ways in which colonizer and colonized collaborated and co-benefited, both beholden to a past that is not easily transcended.
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