Muslims in Western Europe come from a variety of backgrounds, even if there are certain dominant origins (Turks in Germany, Indians-Pakistanis in the United Kingdom, and North Africans in France). In south-eastern Europe there are fewer Muslims. Their presence is linked to different phases of migratory flows and, in the case of France and the United Kingdom, to colonial and post-colonial history.
In the Balkan states of Albania and Bosnia Herzegovina Muslims are in the majority. They became independent quite recently: Albania became independent in 1912 and the independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina was recognized in 1992. Both countries experienced Communist rule. Since the fall of Communism there is an Islamic revival: highly secularized societies during the Communist period, which were deeply affected by economic change and improvements in education. However, the Muslim religious institutions were weakened by policies favouring atheism. Since the 1990s, Islam in the Balkans has experienced a "renewal" with the construction of mosques and the distribution of publications.
The Muslim communities of the diaspora are confronted with a new legal reality in the states where they live. To translate these changes, Muslim thinkers or imams have developed new concepts without a legal dimension. Tariq Ramadan, "a modern traditionalist", in his book To Be a European Muslim (1995) uses the term dar al-shahadah (the profession of faith). Tareq Oubrou, rector of the mosque of Bordeaux, proposed for Muslims a "minority Shahri'a" reduced to two essential dimensions, ritual and ethical, compatible with their integration in the secular space and the values of the French Republic.

The case of marriage is significant. As a consensual act in Islam, marriage is set by custom and follows a family ritual. Turks and North Africans from the Maghreb are particularly attached to the celebration of a “religious” marriage, a private ceremony before the civil wedding. On the contrary, in Europe, civil marriage is the only form recognized by the law, except in a few states (such as Denmark and Sweden) where religious marriage has a legal value and can replace civil marriage.
The case of France is interesting for two reasons: because of the size of the Muslim population and because of the institution of an exclusively civil and secular marriage, since the secularization of the state after the French Revolution (1792), and the recognition of marriage only as civil contract. Civil marriage must precede religious marriage, under penalty of fine or imprisonment of any religious minister who violates the rule. We observe among young people in Muslim circles, a reinterpretation of the traditional marriage. This change is a response to family expectations and in respect of Muslim norms and family values, particularly endogamy and the virginity of the young woman. This type of "acceptable" marriage by families is also consistent with the wishes of young couples that no longer accept the marriages “arranged” by their parents. Just as young people from the "majority society", they want a union of free choice and shared feelings. The expression "halal marriage" to designate an "Islamic marriage" also applies to a marriage whose rituals and values have been recreated at the junction where the two societies meet.