“An an extremely
interesting, important and innovative contribution for the understanding
of a major new phenomena in the contemporary scene – namely
the crystallization, especially through the electronic media, of
a new type of collective identity – of a new translocal Muslim
diasporic imagined community.” Prof. S.N. Eisenstadt,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Van Leer Institute
“Uriya Shavit has assembled a thought-provoking
and fascinating study of how migrants and their descendants re-imagine
their ethnic and religious communities in the diaspora. His examination
of the use of new media – from satellite television to internet
news sites – unpacks complex processes of identity construction,
and his field interviews are a valuable resource for understanding
contemporary integration processes. Highly recommended for anyone
interested in contemporary Muslim politics and the fostering of
a transnational Umma in Europe.” Jonathan Laurence, Boston
College
“Countering the popular assumption that satellite television
and the internet are turning the world into one global village where
national identities erode, Shavit argues that the technology in
fact creates a world where instruments essential to the infusion
and endurance of national sentiments are extended outside national
boundaries, so the imagination of the nation can be nearly as vivid
in exile as at home. He considers such topics as the territorial
dimension of modern national imageries, national imageries and modern
migration, and imagining the homeland from afar. Then he turns to
his case study – the Muslim immigrants in the West, advanced
technologies in the service of the ummah, European and
German contexts of the Muslim nation, and imagining the Muslim nation
from afar.” Reference & Research Book News
