Bougarel explores Balkan Islam which is often called "European Islam" because it resulted from indigenous and largely secularized in opposition to "a non-European Islam" that embody not only the predominantly Muslim countries but also the Muslim populations newly settled in Western Europe. Xavier Bougarel proposes to replace these culturalist visions by an accurate comparison taking into account the nuances of the realities of Islam in Western Europe and in the Balkans.
Xavier Bougarel investigates the evolution of Balkan Islam, commonly known as "European Islam" because it emerged from local, secularized traditions that differ from the non-European Islam prevalent in Muslim-majority countries and recent immigrant communities in Western Europe. Bougarel proposes a more nuanced approach to understanding Islamic identities in these regions.