THE ROLE OF ISLAM IN WESTERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS

THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO ASSESS THE FREEDOM OF RELIGION BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND CERTAIN COMMUNITIES OF PEOPLE IN EUROPE. ALSO, IT ANALYSES THE PATTERNS AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF STATE -RELIGION RELATIONSHIPS IN THE EU COUNTRIES, FOCUSING ON THE MUSLIM COMMUNITIES NOT ONLY IN THE WESTERN EUROPE, BUT ALSO IN THE BALKANS. NOWADAYS, EUROPE FACES AN AMPLE AND COMPLEX PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS GUIDED AND SUPPORTED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. INITIA TED ON ECONOMIC GROUNDS, IT HAS MANAGED TO SOLIDIFY ITSELF AND PRODUCE AN INTERCONNECTION OF A VERY EFFICIENT LEVEL, ESPECIALLY IN THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND EVEN MILITARY FIELDS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WITHIN THE CULTURAL FIELD, MANY OF THE EFFORTS OF THE EU AUTHORITIES MOVING TOWARDS THIS AREA. IN TERMS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE ETHNO -RELIGIOUS FACTOR, IT IS WIDELY BELIEVED THAT EUROPE IS CURRENTLY FACING TWO MAJOR CHALLENGES: FIRST OF ALL, THE PERSISTENCE OF VARIOUS ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS CRISES AND CONFLICTS, AND THE SECOND, THE PROBLEM OF ISLAM. THE TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS DEVELOPED BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND THE STATE AND ALSO THE PROBLEMS RAISED BY THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE MODERN EUROPE, ARE ONLY A FEW OF THE SUBJECTS THAT ARE BEING ANALYZED.

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