This book consists of five chapters whereby each chapter works on one or more cases of religious authority centering on its figures, structures and function sin autonomy from or independence of political power. The first two chapters take cases from Belgium, France and Germany. Chapter I discusses Muslim religious authority in Europe between change and resilience, mapping broadly the structures and figures of Islamic authority in Belgium, France and Germany. Chapter II analyses the key figure of the religious manager through an in-depth study of the Muslim Executive of Belgium, the largest Islamic organisation in Belgium, showcasing the tension between political power and religious authority. The next three chapters draw on data taken from the Muslim world (Morocco, Egypt, Qatar and Iran). Chapter III examines the case of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (based in Qatar) as an instance of religious authority of the ʿulamāʾ, theologians-jurists, that embraces Islamic global politics. Chapter IV begins by laying out the theoretical dimensions of the role of the state in public morality according to various Muslim theologians, and then looks at how the Moroccan state enforces Islamic morality. Chapter V is concerned with dissent as religious counter-authority in Egypt and Iran.