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Islam gains visibility in European public spheres by means of new religious symbols as well as by the emergence of new public figures and voices. Men and women, pious and secular Muslims are debating the place of Islam in European societies for the last two decades. The visibility of Islam provokes a series of public controversies ranging from gender equalities, freedom of expression and secularism. Islam becomes a European public issue, a site where European cultural values of modernity are disputed, revisited and reshaped. The controversies in question take place in diverse local and national public spheres, but they also acquire a transnational and European feature.