Fantastic book, hilarious at times but still taking things seriously, and since you have some interest in Islam and in how it fits into European society, it should work. See my review.

Some other recent and less recent favourites:

- Yukio Mishima, Spring Snow (about Japan in the 1910s, with a fascinating tension between Western modernity and the Japanese traditions, only downside is the protagonist is somewhat annoying early on; my review )

- Marguerite Yourcenar, Mémoires d'Hadrien (as the title says, a literary "autobiography" of Hadrian, with an emphasis on his worldview and philosophy, you could read it in the translation by Yourcenar's girlfriend Grace Frick, but I think it's worth reading in the original, if you have time at some point; my review)

- Tad Williams, Otherland series, since you mention not having read him yet; set in a world in the mid-21st century which has become rather more globalized still, and has life-like virtual reality worlds in which most of the story takes place (settings include Middle-Earth, Alice in Wonderland, Mars, the Odyssey and a lot of others)

- Michel Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White (Dickens-like story about a young Victorian prostitute and her attempts to make life better for her and those around her, very gripping and highly entertaining)