ABSTRACT

The Dublin-based European Council for Fatwa and Research, established in 1997, sought to become the primary authority on religio-legal issues for Muslims living in Europe. The Council introduced pragmatic, integration-inclined solutions to shar’i challenges faced by Western Muslims while advancing the notion that migration is a means to bring about the Islamizing of the continent. The article examines several ground-breaking fatwas issued by the Council and its first president, Yusuf al-Qaradawi; explores the impact it has in eight mosques in five European countries; and analyzes the implications of al-Qaradawi’s recent retirement from its board.