ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with a detailed description of the development of structural bilateral Jewish-Muslim relations in London and Amsterdam. It concludes by highlighting the most significant similarities and differences between these two developments. It is striking that the Jewish-Muslim relations researched were established earlier in London (around 1990) than in Amsterdam (around 2000). Cooperation between Jews and Muslims is more frequent and has a stronger religious character in London than in Amsterdam. In both cities the same themes of connection play a role in Jewish-Muslim relations (perceived similarities between religions, cultures, and social positions, common interests, and common social goals) and the same themes of divisions (the Israeli-Palestinian issue, antisemitism among Muslims and Islamophobia among Jews, terrorist attacks on Jewish and Muslim targets, and the commemoration of wars and genocides in Europe). In London and Amsterdam alike, the aforesaid themes of connection and themes of division in Jewish-Muslim relations give rise to varying outcomes: the former often result in cooperation, but sometimes in conflict, whereas the latter often lead to conflict, but on occasions to cooperation. In London, Jewish-Muslim relations are anchored in a much more extensive social matrix of religious and interreligious groups than in Amsterdam.
