front cover of A Brief History of Islam in Europe
A Brief History of Islam in Europe
Thirteen Centuries of Creed, Conflict and Coexistence
Maurits S. Berger
Leiden University Press, 2014
The relationship between Europe and Islam has been complicated, if not troubled, throughout the thirteen centuries since Muslims first began playing a part in European history. This volume offers a compact, yet comprehensive look at the entire history of the interaction of Islam and Eureopean culture, religion, and politics.

Maurits S. Berger focuses in particular on the transformations that the figure of the Muslim and the image of Islam have undergone in the European mind. Conqueror, Antichrist, scholar, benign ruler, corsair, tradesman, fellow citizen—the Muslim has been all of those and more, and even today, as Muslims make up a substantial portion of Europe’s citizenry, they remain all too often a source of undeserved anxiety for ordinary people and politicians alike. Through Berger’s clear prose and incisive analysis, the story of Islam and Europe is seen as one of interaction and mutual influence rather than perpetual antagonism.
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Introduction to International Studies
Maurits Berger
Leiden University Press, 2025
"International Studies aims to understand the global complexities of the world in which we live today. Central in these complexities is the position of the human individual, who is both an actor and reactor in global events. This textbook introduces three I's – interests, identities, ideas – that provide a framework to understand human behaviour in today's world. The role of people is further elaborated in the three spatial dimensions of the local, regional, and global level. This gives International Studies the character of a 3-D chessboard with human players. Unique in this textbook is the framework of global scopes used for analysis of the global complexities: global structures (such as economics, belief systems, states, intergovernmental organizations), global trends (such as nationalism, power changes, secularization, identity), and global challenges (such as sustainable development, climate change, pandemics, unwanted migration). This textbook approaches International Studies as a field of study that enables students to navigate the framework of the three I's, the three spatial dimensions and the three global scopes. The International Studies student will acquire a broad overview of the various fields and disciplines and, as a consequence, the ability to move across traditional academic boundaries.
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