QUEST(Qualify Unification in Europe for Shifting Trust)A comparative research on Muslims responses to the politics of threat in France,UK,Spain&Norway

This project addresses two themes of the call, the emerging politics of threat and shifting identities
and representations, in relation to the presence of Muslims in European public spheres. Through
two phases of research, followed by an action phase involving civil society and policy actors, the
project aims to (a) consider common discourses of threat accompanying the growing presence of
Muslims in four European societies with different traditions of minority inclusion; (b) to move
beyond such ‘problem oriented’ approaches by examining the shifting identities and
representations of Muslims as these are emerging in an era of ‘democratic deficit’. A key aim is to
identify individual and collective discourses, practices and strategies in the re-elaboration process
of what it means to ‘be Muslim’ in a polarized Europe, by focusing on responses to stigmatization
and exclusion. A final action phase (c) will seek to transfer innovative practices of engagement and
dialogue across the different European contexts. The project will make use of an ethnographic
approach that involves mapping cultural production and activism through extended engagement
with Muslims in urban settings, and with a special focus on youth and gender. While acknowledging
the discourses of threat that pervade representations of Muslims in European public spheres, the
project distinguishes itself from much of the research that represents Muslim agency in a stultifying
manner. By focusing on new forms of engagement and dialogue in collaboration with civil society
actors, the project seeks to promote more inclusive societies in a period of growing anxiety and
mistrust.