ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focuses on the institutionalisation of Islam in Germany, France and Denmark which is the area covered by his investigation of Islamism. The presence of Islam in Western Europe is essentially a consequence of the labour migration which took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The arrival of immigrants from the Middle East and other Muslim regions gave rise to the establishment of Islamic institutions. Although Islam’s European history extends further back in time, the development of Islamic institutions is, on the whole, linked to the migration. A review of the institutionalisation of Islam in selected European states will not only shed light on the Islamic organisations, but at the same time it will also show that their future anatomy is intimately linked to Islam’s legal status. The establishment of Islam in West Germany is essentially due to immigration from Turkey which took place, broadly speaking, in the 1960s.
