Dr. Arndt-Walter Emmerich

Arndt Emmerich is a guest at the Institute. He is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Hertfordshire and part of the international research project ENCOUNTERS (Muslim-Jewish Encounter, Diversity and Distance in Urban Europe: Religion, Culture and Social Model), investigating social, religious, and ethnic encounters between Muslims and Jews in urban Europe. Prior to that, Dr Emmerich was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology of Heidelberg University and a Research Fellow in the Department of Religious Diversity at MPI-MMG. As part of his project, he analysed the role of local mosque activism during the German refugee crisis through a comparative neighbourhood perspective. Between 2017 and 2019, Dr Emmerich was a Postdoctoral Research Officer at the Oxford Department International Development, working for the Changing Structures of Islamic Authority project. He carried out an ethnographic study in various cities in Germany and the UK, in order to understand how Muslim youths learn about Islam, decide which Islamic tradition they follow and how mosque-based authorities ensure to stay relevant for the second and third generation of European Muslims. Dr Emmerich holds a DPhil and MPhil from the University of Oxford and a BA in Sociology from the University of Essex. In his  monograph “Islamic Movements in India - Moderation and its Discontents” (2020), Dr Emmerich conducted long-term participatory research within a Muslim minority movement and political party in India. He drew on insights from political sociology, social movement theory and Islamic studies to analyse the ways religious movements participate in the democratic process, negotiate with the secular state and align with other Muslim and non-Muslim groups.  His findings and commentaries have been published in academic journals such as Politics and Religion, Social Compass, Journal of Muslims in Europe, Entangled Religions, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Asian Survey, and featured, among others, in the BBC, Al Jazeera, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Deutsche, Welle, Times of India, and Der Stern.

Research project

• Dis/trusted partners: local Mosque activism during the German refugee crisis (completed)
• ORA Joint Research Project ENCOUNTERS · Muslim-Jewish encounter, diversity & distance in urban Europe: Religion, culture and social model

Rethinking German History Prize 2025
Arndt Emmerich has being awarded the Rethinking German History Prize 2025, for the article ‘Jewish-Muslim Friendship Networks: A Study of Intergenerational Boundary Work in Postwar Germany’, Comparative Studies in Society and History, 67/1 (2025). [read more]

Silvia Tennenbaum Scholarship 2026
Arndt Emmerich has being awarded the Silvia Tennenbaum Scholarship 2026 for his work on the topics of anti-Semitism, remembrance culture and democracy. "The exceptional quality and diversity of the submitted projects deeply impressed us. The selected fellows complement each other in a remarkable way, both in terms of content and artistic merit, and illustrate the broad spectrum of perspectives and forms of expression that this complex topic allows," explains Annette Schavan, Chair of the Hertie Foundation, regarding the jury’s decision. [read more]

Publications

Books

Emmerich, A.-W. (2020). Islamic movements in India: Moderation and its discontents. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group. Link

Journal Articles

Emmerich, A. (2026). Jewish Sopranos in Germany: A study of Jewish Muslim cooperation in the post-migrant television series The Zweiflers. Cultural Sociology, 0(0): OnlineFirst, pp. 1-21. Link

Emmerich, A. (2025). Biodeutsch - (Un)word of the year: Emancipation or Exclusion? A cultural-sociology perspective. European Sociologist, 1(52), 1-3. Link

Emmerich, A., & Kalender, M. T. (2025). Islam at the margins: Salafi and progressive Muslims contesting the mainstream in Germany. Religions, online, pp. 1-18. Link

Emmerich, A. (2025). Kultur und Kommerz als Brücke oder Barriere nachbarschaftlicher Verständigung am Beispiel jüdischmuslimischer Begegnungen. Medaon, 19(37), 1-17. Link

Emmerich, A. (2025). Urban renewal, contested memories and the politics of cultural production: The case of Jewish–Muslim encounters in Germany. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 28(1), 40-59. https://doi:10.1177/13675494241311092

Gidley, B., Everett, S. S., Druez, E., Ebbiary, A., Emmerich, A., Peretz, D., et al. (2025). Off and on stage interactions: Muslim-Jewish encounter in urban Europe. Ethnicities, 25(2), 235-254. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968241292653

Emmerich, A. (2024). Die Zweiflers: Was uns die preisgekrönte Serie im Frankfurter Bahnhofsviertel über jüdisch-muslimisches Zusammenleben erzählt. Zeitschrift für Medienwissenschaft, ZfM Online, GAAAP_ The Blog. Link

Emmerich, A. (2024). Jewish-Muslim friendship networks: A study of intergenerational boundary work in postwar Germany. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 1-29. Link

Emmerich, A. (2024). Freundschaftspioniere im Bahnhofsviertel: Juden und Muslime in einer multikulturellen Nachbarschaft. Herder-Korrespondenz: Monatshefte für Gesellschaft und Religion, 2024(5), 30-32. Link

Emmerich, A. (2023). Interreligiöse Begegnungen in der Metropole: Am Beispiel von jüdisch-muslimischen Beziehungen in Frankfurt am Main. Forum Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung, 2023(6), 301-303. Link

Emmerich, A. (2023). Arrival of legal Salafism and struggle for recognition in Germany—Reflection and adaptation processes within the German da’wa movement between 2001 and 2022. Politics and Religion, 16(3), 416–434. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755048323000056

Emmerich, A. (2023). (Un)wanted partners: Muslim politics and third front coalitions in India. India Review. (world). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14736489.2023.2261319

Emmerich, A.-W. (2023). Language change and persistence within Turkish mosques in Germany – Transnational ties and domestic demands. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(11), 2779–2798. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1994377

Emmerich, A.-W. (2022). Negotiating Germany’s first Muslim–Christian kindergarten: Temporalities, multiplicities, and processes in interreligious dialogue. Social Compass, 69(4), 578–595. https://doi.org/10.1177/00377686221084694

Emmerich, A. (2020). Salafi Youth Activism in Britain: A Social Movement Perspective. Journal of Muslims in Europe, 9(3), 273–303. https://doi.org/10.1163/22117954-BJA10009

Emmerich, A. (2019). Political Education and Legal Pragmatism of Muslim Organizations in IndiaA Study of the Changing Nature of Muslim Minority Politics. Asian Survey, 59(3), 451–473. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2019.59.3.451

Chapters

Emmerich, A., & Ebbiary, A. (2025). Becoming Salafi. In M. Bano (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to women and Islam (pp. 151-173). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Link

Emmerich, A. (2023). Provincializing Dialogue: Post-secular Governance Networks and the Brokerage of Religious Diversity in a North German Town. In J. Winkler, L. Haddad, J. Martínez-Ariño, & G. Mezzetti (Eds.), Interreligious Encounters in Europe. Sites, Materialities and Practices (pp. 71–94). London New York: Routledge. Link

Blogs

Emmerich, A. (2025, October 8). Beyond victimhood or empowerment, Salafi women shape their own lives. LSE Women, Peace and Security blog. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/...

Emmerich, A. (2025, October 2). Politics of the margins: Germany's Salafi and progressive Muslims redefine the mainstream. Choosing Islamic Conservatism Blog. https://cicox.web.ox.ac.uk/article/cic-blog-1

Emmerich, A. (2025, August 28). Die Zweiflers: media, identity, and coexistence in urban Germany. The Media@LSE blog. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/...

Emmerich, A. (2025, August 26). Neue Forschungsperspektiven auf die Handlungsfähigkeit salafistischer Frauen. blog interdisziplinäre geschlechterforschung. https://www.gender-blog.de/beitrag/handlungsfaehigkeit-salafistischer-frauen

Emmerich, A. (2025, February 24). Blaulicht, Rotlicht, Nepp - und Toleranz? Jüdisch-muslimische Begegnungen im Frankfurter Bahnhofsviertel. Gedibber: unser Blog. https://www.juedischesmuseum.de/blog/juedisch-muslimische-begegnungen/

Emmerich, A. (2025, January 30). Biodeutsch – (Un)Wort des Jahres. Blog Vielfalt leben - Gesellschaft gestalten. https://blog.vielfaltleben.de/...

Emmerich, A. (2025, January 10). Symbolic boundaries within Jewish-Muslim encounters in Germany. LSE Religion and Global Society: interdisciplinary blog. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/...

Emmerich, A.-W. (2024, November 18). Symbolische Grenzkonfigurationen in jüdisch-muslimischer Beziehungsarbeit. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from SozBlog: Blog der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie (DGS): https://blog.soziologie.de/...

Emmerich, A.-W. (2024, August 5). Im Zweifel für die Zweiflers; Juden und Muslime können nicht miteinander? Von wegen. Warum eine ARD-Serie nicht zu schön ist, um wahr zu sein. Retrieved 8 August 2024, from Süddeutsche Zeitung: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/...

Emmerich, A.-W. (2023, August 15). Political accommodation of Salafism in Germany: A long-term view. Retrieved 5 December 2023, from Religion in Public website: https://religioninpublic.blog/2023/08/15/political-accommodation-of-salafism-in-germany-a-long-term-view/

Emmerich, A.-W. (2022, October 4). Exploring Frankfurt’s Deep-Story and Impact on Jewish-Muslim Encounters. Retrieved from Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity website: https://www.mmg.mpg.de/972369/blog-emmerich-exploring-frankfurts-deep-story

Emmerich, A.-W. (2022, October 18). Interfaith cooperation and integration: Germany’s first Christian-Muslim kindergarten. Retrieved 5 December 2023, from Qantara.de website: https://qantara.de/en/article/interfaith-cooperation-and-integration-germany%E2%80%99s-first-christian-muslim-kindergarten

Emmerich, A.-W. (2022, October 17). Integration und interreligiöse Zusammenarbeit: Der lange Weg zur ersten christlich-muslimischen Kita. Retrieved from Qantara.de website: https://qantara.de/artikel/integration-und-interreligi%C3%B6se-zusammenarbeit-der-lange-weg-zur-ersten-christlich

Emmerich, A.-W. (2022, June 4). Sprachwandel in Moscheen – eine Analyse. Retrieved 5 December 2023, from IslamiQ - Nachrichten- und Debattenmagazin website: https://www.islamiq.de/2022/06/04/sprachwandel-in-moscheen-eine-analyse/

Emmerich, A.-W. (2022, January). Language change and persistence within Turkish mosques in Germany. Retrieved from Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity website: https://www.mmg.mpg.de/894899/blog-emmerich-language-change

Podcasts

Gelebte Vielfalt: Kultursoziologe Arndt Emmerich im Gespräch (2025). hr2 Kultur: "Am Nachmittag".

Salafism in Germany (2024). Rethinking Contemporary Islamic Movements in and across Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.

Theo.Logik – Religion Inside (2022), “Mosques and Muslim Youth in Germany” in Kirchenaustritte - und dann? [What comes after leaving the Church?], Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting).

Interviews

Emmerich, A. (2025). The 2026 Fellows: Three questions for Arndt Emmerich. Silvia Tennenbaum Scholarship: Writer-in-Residence Program - The 2026 Fellows. Link