Regardless of the diversity in their national cultures and the nuances of their personal faith and identity; Muslims of the world generally feel they are part of the same worldwide community of faith. Muslims living in Europe, however, often struggle with their faith and identity in a way that those living in the Middle East do not.
In Europe, religious tolerance and inclusiveness is generally practiced, but this broad acceptance occasionally comes under threat from extreme right-wing groups. As a result, while many Muslims in majority Muslim countries enjoy a relative sense of religious security, their counterparts in Europe often seem to be on the defensive.
This is best illustrated by an example from France. According to a BBC report, Islam is seen as the biggest challenge to the country’s secular model, especially this year as France celebrates the centenary of the separation of church and state. This fear stems from the growing number of “ghettos in the suburbs of Paris, Lille, Lyon, Marseille and other cities, some of which have large populations of third-generation migrants from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Until a few years ago, they were referred to as French Arabs, but after 9/11, they are called Muslims.
Islam is widely considered Europe’s fastest growing religion, with immigration and above average birth rates leading to a rapid increase in the Muslim population. The exact number of Muslims is difficult to establish, as census figures are often questioned and many countries choose not to compile such information. However, it is believed that some 11 million Muslims of diverse origins currently live in Europe, apart from native European Muslims. Some are naturalized as citizens of the countries in which they live, and some have been present in countries such as Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo or Greece for centuries. Some are born of foreign parents, while others are converts.
France has the largest number of Muslims in Europe, about seven percent of the population. Other countries that are more than three percent Muslim are the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany and Belgium. Muslims in the United Kingdom make up only 2.7 percent of its population, but their influence and visibility are attracting the attention of both law enforcers and local populations, particularly after the 2005 bomb blasts in the London Underground.
Worldwide migration, beginning in the 1960s, and the fall of communism are thought to be the some of the reasons for the rise of Islam in Europe. This has resulted in many people finding themselves in surroundings where their clothes, food, drink, language, ways of thinking and beliefs set them apart from local inhabitants.
In Europe, the growing diversity of cultures and religions has sometimes led to tensions and conflicts. These conflicts often take place in schools, in many cases over issues of clothing and religious symbols. Should immigrants be made to conform to the customs, culture and habits of their host country, or is it the right of immigrants and their families to retain the traditions and values of their countries of origin?
Muslims living in the West and those in the Muslim world are searching for a middle ground – one that fuses aspects of globalization with Muslim traditions. Women, who often wear headscarves to express their religiosity, have found a grey area between modernity and traditionalism as they fight for more rights to participate in politics and greater equality but also choose Islam as their moral compass.
What this means is that Western hopes for complete “assimilation by Muslims in the West are unlikely to be realized. However, it does leave room for a third alternative between fully adopting the cultures and values of their European homes and rejecting them outright in lieu of the traditions and values of their homelands and their faith.
Sulaiman Al-Anbaris currently a student majoring in International Relations at the American University in Sharjah (AUS), UAE. He is also working as the public relations officer at the Yemeni Cultural Club at AUS. He wrote this article as part of the Soliya’s intercultural dialogue program. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
