Introducing Seaside Town Muslims: Eastbourne Mosque History and Politics
The majority of British Muslims live in cities such as London, Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford—and academic research thus far has reflected a city and post-manufacturing town emphasis. This paper investigates the as yet undocumented history and mosque politics of Muslims living in the small town of Eastbourne, East Sussex, using participant observation and unstructured and semi-structured interviews. Firstly, I conceptualise my case study group by highlighting some differences found in a small town in terms of the origins of its Muslims, their ethnic heterogeneity, and residential spatial distribution. Secondly, I explore mosque politics in terms of mosque planning, public reactions to mosque rebuilding, and mosque management issues.
Mosque Conflicts in European Cities: Introduction
This brief paper introduces the special issue on mosque conflicts in Europe, which draws on research results of the Network of Comparative Research on Islam and Muslims in Europe. The paper first provides basic data on the numbers and distribution of Muslim immigrants in Europe. Reflecting a dialectical approach in which Muslims both affect, and are impacted by, European culture, the paper introduces the issue of the islamicisation of European public space, with special reference to mosque construction, which represents the evolution of Islam from the private to the public sphere. Sources and causes of resistance to mosque-building are identified, and various national contrasts—based on the papers that follow—are drawn.
Comparative Industrial Sociology and the Convergence Hypothesis
Industrial sociology grew spectacularly after World War II, concentrating on three areas: workers' relations with each other, their managers, and their unions; the social organization of the factory; and the impact of technology on social systems extending from the factory to the society. Unable to sus­ tain leadership in all of these areas, industrial sociology shrivelled as other fields invaded its domains. Human relations became the ideological property of the business schools; labor economics maintained its grip on industrial relations; industry-community relations waned as interest in community power soared; industrial organizations were absorbed into the study of com­ plex organizations; occupational sociology maintained research impetus in labor force analysis; and the sociology of the economy dominated the study of industry's institutional relationships. Industrial sociology survived on remnants: worker-machine relationships (job satisfaction, alienation, un­ employment), organizational responses to technological changes. and a bit of working-class ethnology. Enduring interest in technology, however, en­ abled industrial sociology to take part in sociology's expanding interest in comparative studies.