Arabic and Islamic Studies in Europe and Beyond. Etudes arabes et islamiques en Europe et au-dela: Proceedings of the 26th Congress of the Union Europeenne des Arabisants et Islamisants, Basel 2012

This volume presents the proceedings of the 26th Conference of the

Union Europeenne des Arabisants et Islamisants that took place in

Basel, Switzerland, in September 2012. The theme of the volume, Arabic

and Islamic Studies in Europe and Beyond , indicates that research in

Arabic and Islamic Studies is not only carried out in Europe but also in

many non-European regions of the world. Furthermore, it expresses that

Muslim history no longer represents an exclusive field of research

remote from public attention.
Nevertheless, the focus of Arabic

and Islamic Studies is still highly specialized, calling on researchers

to devote their academic lives to learning and practicing the major (and

minor) languages of Islamic history and culture. In this regard, Arabic

and Islamic Studies need to find an equilibrium, again and again,

between disciplinary immersion and intellectual openness. The present

collection contributes to these endeavors and struggles while reflecting

the highly variegated nature of research in Islamic and Arabic Studies.