Call for articles for a special issue of the Journal of Muslims in Europe on:
Mapping Shia Muslim Communities in Europe: Local and Transnational
Dimensions
The current political situation in the Middle East influences and shapes
the perception of Islam and of Muslims in Europe. The ambitions of Iran
and its use of Shia Islam to mobilise Shia minority communities in the
region, not least since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, have been, a
major focus of academic research. In Europe, however, although Islam and
Muslims more generally have received extensive attention by the media,
the wider public and in academic research in recent decades, Shia
Muslims have only very lately attracted the attention of some scholars
working on Shia communities in Europe and their transnational links.
This planned special issue intends to fill this gap in academic research
and aims at mapping Shia communities in various European countries. Shia
Muslims in Europe constitute a minority within a minority and are
characterised by being highly diverse in terms of their ethnic
background, ideological orientation and socio-political and migratory
status. The purpose of this issue is to bring articles together that
discuss the presence of Shia Muslims in Europe and to cover a broad
range of topics which include mapping the historical development of Shia
Muslim communities and changing demographics as well as investigating
their local- and trans-local communal and organisational connectivities
and religious ritual practices within a European context.
Submission guidelines and procedure
The articles should be between 5000-7000 words (including notes and
references). Article proposals may engage with the overall topic of Shia
Islam and Shia Muslims in Europe from any discipline on the following
topics (not exhaustive):
- Shia communities in different European contexts
Shia ritual practices in Europe
Shia Islam and gender in Europe
Demotic processes in the articulation and performance of Shia identities
in EuropeShia Muslims of diverse backgrounds (Iranian, Iraqis, Pakistanis,
Indians, Khojas, Lebanese, Saudi-Arabian, Bahraini, Kuwaiti etc.) and
their relationship to each other in European minority contextsGenerational dynamics within European Shia communities
Articles can discuss Shia communities in a broader European context
across different nation-states or focus on case studies within a
particular European country. We also welcome abstract submissions that
explore various transnational links between European and other Shia
Muslim communities across the world.
Individuals who are interested in submitting an article for
consideration should submit an abstract between 300-500 words in a
Microsoft Word or pdf document together with a short bio (not more than
300 words) to
We encourage PhD students and early-career researcher to submit
proposals as well.
Important dates:
Abstract deadline: 1 July 2015
Notification of abstract acceptance: 17 July 2015
Submission deadline of full articles: 1 February 2016
Planned publication: Spring 2017
The editors are seeking original research only. Articles submitted must
therefore not have been published, accepted for publication or currently
be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Article guidelines will be sent upon acceptance notification.
The editors are seeking to publish a special edition in the Journal of
Muslims in Europe published by Brill: www.brill.com/jome.
We are looking forwards to receiving your abstracts.
Guest-Editors:
Dr Yafa Shanneik
Dr Sufyan Abid
Chris Heinhold