VIEW FROM ABROAD: Europe’s autumn of discontent: burkinis, borders and Brexit

SO it’s September and Europe is back at work. There is much to discuss and to do. Problems abound. Europe faces a host of difficult challenges, many internal, some external — and next year is set to be even more challenging. Everyone is braced for an autumn and winter of discontent. The world kept turning as the EU took a long summer break. The war in Syria continued to wreak havoc, refugees fled devastation, the earthquake in Italy killed and injured many, there were suicide bombs in Yemen, Turkey and Kabul and strongmen in Russia, Turkey and the US thundered poison and venom.

And oh yes, there were the Olympics, bringing some relief and excitement in an increasingly angry, intolerant and difficult world. There was also a landmark peace deal in Colombia between the government and the main left-wing rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), putting an end to one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies.

Europe reacted to the events of course — but internal difficulties took centre stage. Europe’s focus is on itself, its challenges and dilemmas. Certainly, many EU policymakers keep a close watch on global events. But in the end, for many, Europe comes first.

Even when it comes to taking a holiday. Its certainly good politics for European leaders to take their vacations in Europe. Trekking in the Alps rather than in the Himalayas shows that a European leader — like Britain’s new Prime Minister Theresa May — is careful with money and committed to Europe.

But staying close to home has its disadvantages. Staying inside the cosy European cocoon may be cheap, comfortable and familiar. But it leads to complacency. If EU leaders had travelled a bit further, say to Asia for instance, they would know that the EU star is rapidly losing its sparkle.

Europe has certainly been in the news over the summer. But the headlines have been less than flattering. Media across the world has focused on three key questions which unfortunately appear to define Europe in 2016: burkinis, borders and Brexit. Gone are the compliments and the glowing words, the soft focus on European cities, museums, and food, abiding admiration for European integration efforts, the noble pledge to steer clear of war and turmoil. No longer, no more.

Step outside Europe and its clear: the EU has lost its reputation and clout. It’s political, diplomatic and economic influence is slipping, its standing is in tatters. Forget talk about European values. A watching world knows very clearly that Europe has lost its mojo. And nobody is celebrating.

For most of the summer, France grabbed the headlines with its bizarre decision to ban so-called ‘burkinis’. Images of Muslim women being ordered to undress on French beaches caught the global imagination, triggering animated debates on what had happened to a country known for its commitment to “liberte, egalite and fraternite”.

The burkini was of course only the tip of the iceberg. As the country heads for presidential elections in 2017, the French debate on Islam is expected to become even fiercer, with Marine Le Pen, the leader of the xenophobic and anti-Muslim Front National, calling the shots and other politicians including the centre-right presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, frantically struggling to keep up.

The game in France over the coming months is going to be a simple one: who can sound tougher on Islam and Muslims. Le Pen is unlikely to become French president. But she will set the political agenda for the country and dominate the political discourse for months to come.

Which brings us to refugees and Europe’s ongoing struggle to deal with the large number of migrants and asylum seekers who keep knocking on its doors.

The EU once captured the headlines for its bold moves to eliminate borders to create a frontier free single market. The image now is of an EU determined to protect itself with barbed wire fences, armed policemen and more. This is especially the case in many eastern European states where restrictive new laws making life difficult for asylum seekers and refugees, anti-migrant rhetoric by decision makers and high-ranking politicians is commonplace.

Asylum seekers and refugees are called “intruders,” and “potential terrorists”, bent on destroying Western civilisation and Christianity. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban himself in July referred to migration as “poison”. Gyorgy Schopflin, a ruling party member with a seat in the European Parliament, suggested on Twitter that pigs’ heads should be placed on the border fence with Serbia to deter Muslim refugees from entering Hungary.

And then of course there is Brexit. The world can’t really believe that a country would willingly leave a much-coveted rich men’s club. And no one seems as confused as Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May.

Her mantra of “Brexit means Brexit” is beginning to ring hollow, not least because the government has yet to decide on just when to invoke “article 50” which will kick-start negotiations on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

Many including former premier Tony Blair seem to believe that Britain could change course either through a second referendum or new elections. But others denounce this as wishful thinking.

Who knows? Europeans once stood out for their post-modern values and aspirations, their ability to make friends with former enemies. That’s no longer the case. Europe in the autumn of 2016 appears fragile, fraught and afraid. And it may stay this way for most of next year.

Europe needs Muslim role models

So far Sadiq Khan’s name and life story mean little outside Britain. The man who is the new mayor of London is unknown in Europe. He should not be. As they tear their hair out over the massive arrival of refugees and migrants, Khan’s story should help set the record straight on immigration, integration and European Muslims.

The former human rights lawyer and the son of a bus driver from Pakistan may not see himself as a role model for the million plus Muslims who have entered Europe in search of shelter, safety and jobs.

But he should. And so should the many other European Muslims — whether practising or not — who are proud Britons, French, Dutch, German or Belgian. Because unless their stories are told and retold, the pervasive narrative of Muslims as “the other”, as aliens who can never become “true” Europeans will go on and on.

The counter-narrative to the anti-Muslim discourse is more imperative than ever. It is needed to ensure that as European governments struggle to deal with the challenge of receiving the newcomers, including thousands of children, their focus is not just on the misfits and extremists but on the millions of Muslims who are an integral part of Europe’s politics, society and economy.

If not, too many Europeans will stay entangled in a negative and often toxic conversation about Islam and Muslims.

Certainly, the increasingly virulent — and increasingly popular — Far Right parties see the unwanted newcomers as a threat to Europe’s values and to European security. Many governments in Eastern Europe make no secret of their fear of Islam.

The anti-Islam rhetoric has already seeped into the political mainstream. Talk to any European policymaker and the discussion soon turns to Muslims and their “failure to integrate”. Attitudes of Muslims towards women and gays are often cited as one glaring example of the disconnect between “real” Europeans and Muslims.

The recent tragic terror attacks in Paris and Brussels have led to further vilification of Muslims as terrorists and misfits.

See: After Paris, fear and love for Muslims

In a bitter election campaign, Khan had to fight off repeated allegations from his Conservative Party opponents of his alleged links with Muslim extremists.

European Muslims are members of several European governments, especially at city and municipal levels. Rotterdam’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has won accolades for running the city since 2009. There is a handful of EU officials and members of both the European and national parliaments who are Muslims. Like former One Direction singer Zayn Malik, European Muslims are doing well in the arts, sports and business.

Their experiences need to be part of a new narrative on integration. Such an exercise will require determination and vision, good arguments backed up by facts and better — much better — communication.

It means moving from talking about “us” and “them” to a more inclusive language of living in a shared space, with shared concerns and interests and, yes, even shared values.

Developing a new “European immigration story” requires the joint efforts of politicians and policymakers, scholars as well as thought and religious leaders, civil society organisations, business representatives and the media. It means highlighting that Europe is a truly diverse continent which celebrates all its citizens, regardless of race and religion and recognises that if it is to compete on the global stage, it needs to capitalise on the talents of all its citizens.

The message should be clear: integration is a two-way street, requiring adjustment efforts by migrants and host societies. Newcomers must abide by existing rules so that they can become part of the conversation. But in exchange they should be accepted as full-fledged members of society.

Read: Muslim women must learn English or be deported: British PM

Integration can be a long and difficult process. There is no silver bullet to ease or speed up the process. Some form of affirmative action or support for higher education and facilitation of job promotion is needed to encourage minorities to become active social participants.

The EU institutions can contribute to changing the narrative on immigration by making a determined effort to recruit and promote men and women from migrant communities. Such measures could be based on the EU’s relatively successful policy on gender equality. With European Parliament elections scheduled for 2019, the EU assembly should make sure that ethnic minority politicians are included on their voting lists.

Integration requires a “whole of society” approach. Canada’s large-scale and ambitious immigration strategy has demonstrated that tools ranging from sports clubs to church and mosque-related activities have a powerful influence on the absorption of younger immigrants into the societies of host countries. The role of local authorities is especially important.

Many major international and national companies are contributing to national and international efforts to provide shelter, food, water and medical care to refugees. They also need to become more proactive in offering internships, training programmes and permanent jobs to refugees. This will require more intensive coordinated efforts to match the skills and educational qualifications of refugees with job vacancies.

Relaxation of laws which prohibit asylum-seekers from working are needed so that companies which are interested in offering full-time jobs to refugees are not deterred by the risk of deportation.

Above all, stories of successful integration are desperately needed to help change the current negative conversation on Islam and Europe.

Brussels, My City

I love my city. I love Brussels. This city has nurtured and supported me through the good times and the bad.On March 22, as bombs devastated the national airport and a metro station that I use occasionally to get to work, killing many innocent people, I realised just how much Brussels means to me.With Brussels bleeding, wounded and in mourning, I am struck by the extent to which my heart belongs here.I love the haphazard beauty of Brussels, the ancient cobbled streets paired with sudden high-rise buildings; the beautiful squares, the leafy forests and parks in the middle of the city; the moody bars and cafes; the crazy mix of cultures, religions and people.Visiting Zurich recently, I was struck by just how boringly white the city was. In contrast, Brussels is colourful and quixotic. And proud to be so.Quite simply, this city is my world. I enjoy visiting other countries, other towns. But after wandering the globe, it’s Brussels that I call home. And it’s Brussels that welcomes me back with open arms and a warm embrace like no other city does.This is where I grew up, studied, married and had children. This is where I work. This is where I want to stay and grow older. This is where I belong.Truth be told, I am an accidental Belgian. It was a complicated and complex quirk of fate that brought me here with my father, mother and sister so many years ago.My family moved on, went to Japan and then back to Pakistan. But I have never looked back. When I came here almost four decades ago, I had no idea what this little country was all about or that I would love and cherish it so very much.Even now, who really knows Belgium? I have difficulty explaining where I am from to most people including taxi drivers in say, India, Singapore and Indonesia.It’s the country between France, Germany and the Netherlands, I tell them.  They look at me quizzically.  Really?   When I say Brussels, they hear “Brazil”. What language do you speak?Of course it’s complicated. Belgium is divided linguistically, culturally and on ethnic grounds. My Flemish friends hardly know my Francophone ones. People live in parallel universes. Contacts between the Flemish and the Francophones are still too few and far between.As illustrated recently, Belgium can go for months without a proper government. We have our regional and city authorities that keep working hard even as the national government presses the “pause” button.We pay our taxes, bring out the trash, drive badly - but most of the time, we play by the rules.As driven tragically home by the terror attacks, Brussels is also clearly home to many of Europe’s most disaffected and angry young Muslims.They live in communes such as infamous Molenbeek,  now referred to as the “jihadi capital of Europe”.  They become foreign fighters who join the so-called Islamic State. They then come back to Belgium and other European countries and wreak devastation.Certainly, too many Belgians of Moroccan extraction live on the margins of society, discriminated and angry, unhappy at school and unable to find jobs.Salah Abdeslam, a French national who grew up in Molenbeek, was the sole survivor of the group sent to gun down and bomb revellers in Paris. He fled back to Belgium and was finally caught last week. The tragic attacks on the airport and the metro station are believed to be in response to Abdeslam’s arrest.But that’s only part of the story. Moroccan Belgians are also successful entrepreneurs, politicians and artists. The city’s transport and health system is in their hands. They are in the police and in the army and in private firms which provide security for the EU and other organisations.As the days of mourning began, according to Rudi Vervoort, the minister-president of the Brussels-Capital region, the city showed “its true nature ... an exemplar of solidarity”, with a massive number of blood donations, taxis giving their services for free and people on social networks offering to open their homes to those in need.Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel joined crowds gathered at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels to light a candle in memory of the victims of the terror attacks.A makeshift memorial popped up in the heart of the city, with messages of condolence, outrage and love by people from around the world written in chalk on the pavement where the lit candles were placed.Some among the crowd broke out into an impromptu rendition of Imagine by John Lennon. Others stood in sombre silence.Brussels has been a shadow of itself since last November’s terror attacks in neighbouring France which revealed strong connections between the Paris killers and terrorist networks in Belgium.Tourism is on the decline, cafes and restaurants stand empty. Businesses are shutting down.Brussels and its citizens are strong and resilient. But this week as we join the global struggle against evil, we are in pain and in mourning for a more innocent and carefree past which, we know, will never really come back.  

Islam in Europe: The twain shall meet

Aijaz Zaka Syed, a Gulf-based writer, writes on the well documented topic of Islam in Europe. As Shada Islam has covered the issue herself over the years and months leading to the publication of this article, it would be best to have the events and perceptions painted using the words of another writer for once.Fear stalks Europe's fortress. Perhaps seldom in the long history of the continent has it been afflicted by such overwhelming insecurity and paranoia. The scare of “Muslims are coming” dominates conversations everywhere. Images of refugees from Syria and other hot spots pouring into Europe abound. The breathless coverage of the “refugee crisis” by European media and scaremongering by politicians like Marie Le Pen doesn’t help.It is not just the extreme right that is raising the specter of Islamic invasion of the white, Christian continent. Mainstream parties like David Cameron’s Tories have been resorting to the same alarmist rhetoric against migrants both old and new. A new UK law threatens to deport thousands of immigrants who earn less than 35,000 pounds a year. It is this politics of paranoia and hate that has brought an unhinged bigot like Trump to the center-stage of US presidential elections. Terror attacks like those in Paris and the fear of homegrown extremists only add fuel to the raging debate and play into the hands of the Right, which has been steadily rising everywhere.The recent cover of Poland’s popular weekly WSieci, warning of the “Islamic Rape of Europe” perhaps best illustrates the paranoia. It is a graphic and racist depiction of a screaming blonde woman, with eyes closed, draped in the EU flag with three sets of brown and black hands clawing at the flag and her hair.This is but just one example of the extreme fear and loathing being whipped up across Europe. The WSieci cover story also attacks German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has demonstrated rare humanity and moral courage by welcoming more than a million refugees last year, for “undermining European culture and civilization.”But is Europe really in danger of being swamped by the predominantly Muslim migrants?Jordan with a population of 8 million has provided refuge to 1.7 million Syrians. Turkey has been sheltering more than 3 million Syrian refugees. So if the EU with a population of more than 500 million people and a GDP of more than $27,000 faces the possibility of receiving a million or two war victims, it’s not the end of the world. By the way, as author Kenan Malik points out, a million refugees constitute less than 0.2 percent of the EU’s population. Besides, these are the people who have fled their countries in extremely trying circumstances. Thousands have perished in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas or overland in trying to reach to safety in what they hope is a better life for their loved ones. This is what people have done for thousands of years — migrate — when faced with danger and certain, perilous future. This is why the UN Charter mandates member states to provide refuge to all such people.More important, Europe has a moral and ethical responsibility to do its bit for these migrants considering this is a crisis largely created by the West. While the Arab Spring quickly toppled the regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Syria has proved a tough nut to crack. If Assad has survived this long, at catastrophic cost to his people and country, the credit goes to Iran, their ally Hezbollah and Russia of course. This conflict has claimed at least 300,000 lives with nearly half of the country’s population now living in refugee camps in neighboring countries.Can you blame the Syrians if they are fleeing this veritable hell?What will it take for Europe and other world powers to recognize this and show some mercy and humanity to these desperate men, women and children who are fleeing persecution and in most cases certain death? After all, no one willingly abandons his/her home and land of ancestors.  And it’s about time Europe accepted Islam and Muslims as essential part of the continent. They are here to stay. Europe has been home to at least 50 million Muslims, who have enriched the European society in numerous ways. Indeed, Islam has been part of Europe for the past 1,200 years.Muslims arrived in the continent as early as 711 AD when they conquered Spain and created a society that remains a model of religious harmony. The Muslims ruled Spain for centuries in a period known as the Golden Age of Andalusia where Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed in peace and created a great civilization that produced great art, architecture and scholarship. The expansion of Turkey’s Ottoman Empire marked the second phase of Islamic engagement with the continent, which saw millions of indigenous Europeans embrace Islam. The third phase of engagement came with the arrival of thousands of South Asian, Turkish and North African immigrants who provided cheap labor to countries like UK, Germany, France and Belgium.So it’s not as if this is the first time Europe is opening its doors to Muslims. Islam and the West have co-existed for more than a millennium and there is no need for conflict now. This is possible only when both sides tried to understand, engage and accept each other. Integration is a two-way street.  If instead of viewing Muslims through the lens of security, Europe sincerely try to accommodate them, as Germany, Canada and Greece have done, it would be in the interest of both.The majority of European Muslims are law-abiding citizens who pay taxes and share the same concerns, needs and experiences as non-Muslims, according to the Open Society Institute. And across Europe, immigrants are revitalizing impoverished urban neighborhoods, creating jobs and prompting innovation, reports the European Economic and Social Committee. As Shada Islam of Friends of Europe says, “Europe’s focus is on Muslims as terrorists, refugees, foreign fighters, criminals and misfits, but these represent a minuscule minority of European Muslims. Europe must conduct a sensible conversation on migrants and Islam. People must move from talking about “us” and “them” to a more inclusive language of living in a shared space, with shared concerns and interests.” As the experience of nations like America, Canada and Australia demonstrates, migrants are never a burden and only bring value, dynamism and diversity of experience to host societies.That said, Muslims cannot be found wanting in their efforts to become acceptable and valuable to host societies. They must do everything to integrate and adapt themselves to the values, concerns and sensitivities of their adopted countries. They mustn’t do anything that puts their faith in the dock. There is an opportunity in this crisis for both Muslims and Europe.