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.

Shada Islam quoted in 'Europe Muted on CIA Torture Report Amid Islamic State Conflict' (The Washington Post with Bloomberg 10/12/2014)

European governments gave a muted response to a U.S. report on Central Intelligence Agency torture, declining the opportunity to criticize the Obama administration amid concerns over current security threats.

While China accused the U.S. of hypocrisy, the European Union and the U.K. moderated their response to the findings of the report by Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“There’s a deep reluctance to open old wounds just as we face the challenge of Islamic State and parts of the Middle East go up in flames,” Shada Islam, Director of Policy at the Friends of Europe advisory group in Brussels, said in a phone interview. “Many European governments were complicit or at least turned a blind eye to what the CIA was doing.”

The report, which focused on the agency’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, revealed that U.S.-held terrorism suspects received more brutal treatment than previously known.

For the full article, visit http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NGBYTJ6K50YD01-0BB8G4EV8H8HOEQDREHOMQHNBP

ASIAN LESSONS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST: AFTER CHAOS, DEMOCRACY (Originally published 09/02/11)

European and American policymakers worried about further chaos and confusion in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab states should take a close look at the way years of authoritarian rule gave way to democracy in three leading Asian nations: Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea.All three Asian countries went through long and difficult transition periods following the fall of entrenched, corrupt, dictators. There were riots, uncertainty and pain. The economy suffered. The army watched warily as protests spread.Today the three countries are functioning democracies, allies of the West and active participants in Asia’s rise. Historical parallels are never perfect of course; Arab countries, with their mix of disgruntled young people yearning for change, under-developed or non-existent political parties and well-organised Islamists present a complex challenge to Europe and America.Not surprisingly, ever since Tunisia’s “jasmine revolution” – and with the Iranian “Islamic revolution” circa 1979 on their minds - policymakers in Brussels and Washington have been struggling to balance their support for change and democracy with a desire for stability and continuity in the region.There is justified concern that anti-government protests could be hijacked by Islamists. But also unjustified assertions that the region is not “ready for democracy” and that chaos will be destructive and long-enduring. The West’s mixed message risks feeding a perception on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere that Europe and the US are putting stability ahead of democratic ideals and leaving hopes of nurturing peaceful, gradual change in the hands of an old guard which has little reason to speed up the process.Such sentiments do not augur well for future relations between the West and the Arab world. Better and wiser therefore to give a supportive hand, sound advice and good counsel to the real democrats than to throw a lifeline to those clinging to power.For inspiration, Arab and Western policymakers should read up on recent Indonesian history and especially the country’s successful –albeit sometimes painful - transformation to democracy following the fall of President Suharto in 1998.Also worth a read is the success of the “People Power movement” in the Philippines in 1986 which drove President Ferdinand Marcos into exile and installed Corazon Aquino as the new president. In South Korea, meanwhile, the democratic uprising of June 1987 represented a nation-wide uprising and the main goal was to make the authorities to give green light to democratisation.Despite their flaws, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea are proof that countries can change direction, peoples’ aspirations for democracy can be met and that chaos can give way to peace and development.For lessons on managing change and transformation, perhaps Arab and Western policymakers should stopping fretting about Iran and start consulting some of Asia’s new democracies.