Transnational Islam

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European Journal of Economic and Political Studies

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Transnational Islam

Ihsan Yilmaz1

The term “transnationalism” was originally connected to immigration cohorts,

but today the concept has been expanded to include a whole array of activities across

borders. The term ‘transnationalism’ broadly refers to multiple ties and interactions

linking people or institutions across the borders of modern nation-states. Different ties

and relationships are intertwined in the globalized world that is getting smaller thanks

to technological advances. Transnationalism involves “several layers ranging from the

construction of transnational social spaces to the formation of transnational

communities” (Roudometof 2005: 113). Transnational migrants pave the way for the

deterritorialization of cultures and people, who cut across the boundaries of the nation-

state (Bhabha, 1992; Brah, 1996; Gilroy, 1993; Hall and duGay, 1996). Transnational

interactions, mobilizations, activities, campaigns, power relations and so on influence

the policies of international actors, the nation-state being the prime one.

Whilst the continuing relevance of nation-states and interstate institutions cannot

be denied and the nation-states remain the most powerful actors in the international

system, as Sydney Tarrow (2005) demonstrates a widespread increase in transnational

activism in the forms of such as global awareness; novel forms of communication and

organization; and multi-issue campaigns is equally undeniable.

There have been several studies shedding light on different aspects of

transnationalism such as advocacy networks (Keck and Sikkink 1998); religion (Roy

2004); terrorism (Pape 2005); and transnational immigrant communities’ within the

1Fatih University, Turkey. [email protected]

-3 (SI), 2010



Ihsan Yilmaz

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advanced industrial liberal democracies (Faist 1998, 2000a, b; Glick-Schiller 1997;

Gold 2000; Levitt 2001a, b; Portes 1996, 1998, 2001) but the area is a fertile ground

awaiting for many more studies. The word “Islam” is one of the a few words that come

to mind when we speak about transnationalism. For instance, the concept of ummah be

it understood as a base for political entity by transnational groups such as Hizb ut-

Tahrir (Yilmaz 2009) or as a socio-cultural entity by transnational humanitarian activists

such as Turkey’s Fethullah Gülen (Yilmaz 2003: 235) is very crucial in this regard.

Moreover, there are many transnational Muslim religious groups operating globally

such as Tabligh-i Jamaat. The existence of Muslim minority communities in the West is

also another fact that makes transnationalism and Islam an attractive match for

academics. Academics have been researching on loyalties to the nation-state among

diasporic populations; studying the issues of globalization, cosmopolitanism, global

citizenship and divided loyalties (Held, 1995, 2002; Nussbaum and Cohen, 2002;

Singer, 2002; Soysal, 1994) and the existence of Muslim minority communities in the

West offers scholars new avenues for research. It can for instance be analyzed if and to

what extent Inglehart’s (1997: 235) argument that the nation-state system is facing a

weakening sense of attachment is true as far as Muslim diasporas are concerned. It can

be studied if Muslim transnational communities form diasporic, subnational and ethnic

identities that cannot be easily contained within the nation-state (Cohen, 1997: 192–6)

or if they are likely to develop multiple attachments to local and global allegiances

(Appadurai 1996; Cohen 1996; Featherstone 2002; Clark 2009). Muslim transnational

activism is another area of study. As Tarrow (2005) argues it can not only influence and

change the nation-states incrementally and haltingly but also alter the strategies,

claims, and identities of domestic movements. “Religion is a “lived” experience and

one deeply embedded in people’s lives. Changes in society, and changes in personal

circumstances, produce changes in the substance and function of religious ideas,

identities, and meanings. A transnational world is introducing those changes at what

often seems to be a dizzying pace” (Williams 2009: 133). Thus, studying continuities,

discontinuities and transformations in religious identities and practices of Muslim

individuals in a context of transnationalism and globalization is also a fertile ground.

We hope that you will find in this special issue valuable contributions elaborating on

some of these crucial themes.




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Transnational Islam

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