The future of Europe: Islamophobia?

The future of Europe is closely linked to the successful integration of Muslim immigrants into European societies. Europe should seek to reach cultural pluralism in contrast to assimilation or exclusion in order to avoid discrimination against Muslims. The author argues that both Muslim immigrants and host societies have mutual responsibilities in this respect. Both have to go through a mental change, eventually resulting in the redefinition of their identities. However, if Europe fails to integrate the Muslim immigrants, it will also fail to unite the Europeans under a common political identity. It will have to pay a price through social conflict, extreme nationalism and hatred amongst its fellow citizens, writes Burak Erdenir in the Turkish Policy Quarterly.

Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mohammed.”

It has always been a subject of discussion: How the course of European history would be, had the Frankish commander Martel not beaten the Muslim armies and prevented them from moving into Europe in the 732 Poitiers War. The quotation from the famous historian Edward Gibbon reflects this speculative interpretation of history. It is interesting that European intellectuals have been referring to Gibbon’s interpretation very often these days. Especially after September 11 and attacks in Europe, the deep historical anxieties of Europeans against Muslims have been reemerging. But this time the undesired guests are not Islam armies; they are Muslim immigrants. 

Euro-Muslims 

Today about 23 million Muslims accounting for 4.5 percent of the total, live in whole of Europe (not including Turkey) compared with only 800,000 in 1950. Each year around 1 million immigrants mostly from the Muslim countries are flowing into Europe. Birth rates of European Muslims are more than three times of those of non-Muslim Europeans. It is estimated that Muslims will comprise at least 20 percent of Europe’s population in 2050. This would be the outcome of not only the increase in Muslim population but also the decline in general European population. As The Economist puts it properly, in many parts of Europe “in local papers death announcements speak of “Pierre” and “Charles;” the births are of “Moussa” and “Fatih.”

Even though historically the identity of Europe was constructed mainly through the “otherization” of Islam, it remained quite unfamiliar until the second half of the 20th century. With the migration of large number of immigrant communities of Islamic background during the second half of the 20th century, Europeans started to discover Muslims. Hence, the image of Muslims began to go hand in hand with the concept of immigration. Muslim immigrants tended to settle down in the poorer neighborhoods of industrialized, urban areas such as the suburbs of major French cities, the Ruhr industrial area in Germany or the greater London area in the UK. As a consequence, they have been in contact with the urban population of the Western societies and been a major subject of discussion in mainstream politics and media. 

Islamophobia 

After the collapse of communist regimes, unemployment in Europe dramatically increased putting immigrants in the spotlight. They were blamed to be a threat to the welfare, jobs and prosperity of the middle classes. Muslim immigrants with whom the Europeans had to share the scarce resources and jobs were stigmatized as a scapegoat. This was“white middle-class nationalism.” Meanwhile, at the European Union level, the Schengen Agreement introduced strict rules against outsiders with the aim of creating a Fortress Europe. After September 11, the economic exclusivist approach transformed into a social and cultural one. Muslims who had been believed to threaten the system as immigrants began to be charged with much more dangerous attributes. The principal threat shifted from the economic burden to the danger brought about by their culture. A new racism emerged based on cultural differences claiming the incompatibility of Muslims with the European culture. Even third generation citizen Muslims have been perceived as dangerous outsiders. The popularity of political parties such as Le Pen’s French National Front, British National Party, Austrian Freedom Party, Belgian Flemish Bloc, Italian Northern League and Dutch List Party reveals the scope of reaction towards immigrants. The “Muslim card” has been the strongest asset of such parties in gaining the support of ordinary Europeans. 

Suspicion against Muslims turned into hostility creating an Islamophobia all over Europe. For most Europeans, Islam is believed to have a connection with terror and violence. Muslims are identified as an enemy inside with international links. Events in Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran are perceived as being representative of Muslims in Europe. Especially, the war presented against terrorism is perceived by a number of Europeans as a clash of cultures and religions. Spanish ex-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar’s claim that “The problem with al-Qaeda came as long ago as 1,300 years” indicates how Islam is linked with extremists.

In mainstream politics and media, Islamophobic sentiments are presented as natural. Statements of political leading figures have contributed to the Islamophobic views, such as Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi claiming that “Western culture is superior to Muslim culture.” European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia reports that after September 2001, Muslims have become targets of increased hostility and have faced increased physical and verbal abuse. Mosques and Islamic centers and people with visual identifiers such as turbans or headscarves have become targets. 

Islamophobia has been rising even in countries that have been proud of their tolerant culture. In the Netherlands, after the murder of a film-maker Theo Van Gogh by a Moroccan immigrant in November 2004, mosques and schools of the Muslims have been under attack. According to a July 2005 poll by The Guardian, thousands of Muslims have been suffering from increased Islamophobia in the UK. More than half a million Muslims considered leaving Britain after the London terrorist attacks in July 2005, with “one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks.” Stereotypes and prejudices on Muslims that had already been existent, experienced a dramatic increase in the public domain. Those historical and latent prejudices found a suitable setting to emerge. 

After the London bombings, European governments have been reconsidering their counterterrorism strategies. Tougher measures and tighter controls are being brought against extremists. However, such measures have effects on ordinary innocent Muslim citizens, as well. Muslims may even be “punished for the sort of violent speech that might be overlooked if it was, say, uttered by a drunken football fan.” Threatening naturalized Muslim citizens with deportation or with other similar punishments further alienates them from their host societies. According to a Daily Telegraph poll, majority of British Muslims believe that “British political leaders don’t mean it when they talk about equality; they regard the lives of white British people as more valuable than the lives of British Muslims.” Even though majority of Muslims condemn the London bombings, a number of them are seriously alienated from society, even feeling sympathy for the bombers. The same poll shows that 24 percent of the respondents have some “sympathy with the feelings and motives of those who carried out the attacks.” This is noteworthy in the sense that in absolute numbers it amounts to 400,000 British Muslims.

To read the article in full, visit the ESI / Turkish Policy Quarterly website.