This book presents an omnibus academic inquiry into contemporary
Islamic religious authority with a focus on imams and the imamate – on
which, until now, not much has been written in English. Our ambition is
to contribute deeper and more fruitful analyses of the changes and challenges
experienced by this source of religious authority in the context of the
secular-liberal societies of Western Europe since the Second World War and
the subsequent migration and refugee flows. At the same time, this research
also serves to highlight secular-liberal institutions and their adaptation, or
lack thereof, to the multiculturalism that characterizes Western European
states. The social facts of globalization, transnational migration, and various
interpretations of secularism have challenged the visibility of religion in the
public sphere in Western societies. This has most importantly and urgently
required religious authorities to revisit their organization, governance,
and internal hierarchy, and Islamic religious authority is no exception.