The Limits of European Islam: Turkish Islamic Umbrella Organizations and Their Relations with Host Countries—France and Germany

This article discusses how Turkish Muslim leaders perceive and respond to host-state policies engineered to incorporate Islam into French and German societies. It shows that the Turkish Islamic umbrella organizations are more critical of host-state policies in Germany than in France. More specifically, for leaders in both France and Germany, the French Council for the Muslim Faith is regarded as a more legitimate and effective institution compared with its counterpart, the German Islam Conference. Even though in France the constitution demands a strict separation of church and state, in reality, rules are relaxed in a way to provide benefits to Islamic organizations. In contrast, while the constitution is more accommodating in Germany, this flexibility has not led to favorable relations with Islamic organizations. Based on interviews conducted with organization leaders and policy-makers, this article delves into the gap between the legal rights reserved for Muslim organizations and their implementation in practice.