MUSMINE Muslim Minorities in Europe

MUSMINE is an innovative research observatory set up by the European University Institute (RSCAS) in collaboration with Ethnobarometer, programme of the Consiglio italiano per le scienze sociali. 

                                         
Co-directed by:  Valérie Amiraux and Alessandro Silj. Research assistant: Aleksandra Djajic Horvath

Objectives

MUSMINE aims to create a permanent research and training centre on questions raised by the presence of Muslim minorities in Europe that would serve as a meeting place and laboratory for experts and scholars in Europe currently addressing these questions, but with few opportunities for systematic inter-disciplinary or cross-national exchange. It would also seek to identify and assess emerging problems and to stimulate research where information is lacking or incomplete.

The Centre aims to establish itself as the European-level reference point and information repository for work in this area, taking as its task the diffusion of data and information on the Muslim minority presence in Europe to a wide range of interested users: academics, the media, the political sphere, NGOs, and relevant institutions at the local, national and European level.

Activities

MUSMINE’s activities are articulated along four axes:

1. Monitoring
   Monitoring activities provide the departure point for all other activities initiated by the Centre.
   
   The scope of these activities is twofold: to follow the emergence and development of conflictual or potentially conflictual situations, and to publish technical dossiers to provide readers with up-to-date data, statistics, and practical information with regard to national legislation on Islam as a religion and Muslims as citizens.

2. Academic research and activities
   The key features of the research developed under the MUSMINE umbrella are: European-level shared knowledge and experience, and systematic integration of disciplines.
   
   Research activity will focus on specific research themes decided for each academic year and will be disseminated through academic publications.

3. Training
   Training activities at both the national and European levels will be launched following an initial trial period of the other activities.

   Training is primarily envisaged in terms of continuous education for professionals in sectors such as education, hospital and prison administration, journalism, social work, trade unions, and local politics.
   
   The first training activities will be dedicated to conflicts regarding mosques in Italian cities and the related political debates.
   For further information, please contact:
   Aleksandra Djajic Horvath

4. Policy advising and consulting
   Thanks to the network of experts involved, the Centre is meant to advise governments or other decision-making bodies on specific issues which may be of interest to policy-makers through ad hoc research or policy briefs produced independently or on request.

Networking

The shared contribution of the Ethnobarometer network and scholars and visiting fellows involved in MUSMINE and other relevant RSCAS research programmes—with field experience and an appreciation for comparative work—ensures the quick activation of a network of well-established partners and participants and the production and collection of a range of information. 

Publications news
Islamic Finance in Europe, by Rodney Wilson. First MUSMINE/RSCAS Distinguished Lecture

Access to the readings of the workshop on 'Headscarf Controversies in Muslim and non-Muslim Societies'