The majority of Muslims seek refuge in Europe to escape the entrenched sectarian fundamentalism in their chaotic countries. These refugees can form a strong political movement, so the Muslim majority can finally speak out.
Europe needs an organized, moderate Muslim front in order to counter radical Islam, jihadist terrorism and the idea of a clash of civilizations promoted by Islamic State (IS). In these months marked by fear and terror, when an immediate end to the anguish would clearly be the most desirable outcome, it is difficult to accept that the road ahead is both long and arduous. Yet the issue is set to be one of the European Union’s greatest challenges in 2016. In the 21st century, it is an illusion to believe that the West can isolate itself from Islam without building fortresses and waging wars. The question is – can we strengthen the proponents of moderate Islam, enabling them to act as a counterweight to radicalism and to quell the fears of Europeans? Do the conditions for such a development exist? In theory, the answer is yes. On 20 August of this year, an Iraqi engineer, Laith Majid, was photographed after reaching the Greek island of Kos. He embraced his two children and burst into tears.
The photograph spread around the world as an iconic image of the plight of refugees fleeing the armed gangs roaming Syria and Iraq.
In many cases, the actions of these criminal gangs are motivated by religious sectarianism, Muslims terrorizing and massacring other Muslims.
In September, the engineer Majid was photographed in Berlin, standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate. He was holding his daughter on his left arm, and in his right hand he held the photograph that had become famous weeks earlier. The photo had not only shifted Western sentiment, it had also ended up on the posters of protesters in Baghdad beneath the claim, “this is what our government does to its people”. The story of Majid’s family narrates a more hidden aspect of what has been going on for months.
The refugees that arrive in Europe are fully aware of the tragedy that they have experienced, of selling their homes to pay for their voyage to safety, of having to leave behind their careers, friends and loved ones in order to save their own children. They know that one of the main causes of all of this is radical Islam. They know too that their destination is Europe and the countries that have promised to offer them asylum. Those fleeing know this, as do those who remain behind in Baghdad and Damascus.
It is possible to work together with these refugees to strengthen a modern, moderate, politically aware and organized Islam in Europe (and perhaps beyond). A modern Islam, with structured social associations, should be able to speak with its own voice, promoting integration and coexistence in Europe and dialogue with the cultures and institutions of the Old Continent. This opportunity undoubtedly exists, and it offers arguably the best option since the question of Islamic immigration arose.
There is a social base that recognises that its scars have been inflicted by sectarianism and Islamist terrorism and that the West has offered Muslims shelter and protection. This awareness should form the foundations upon which European policies and society can build.
“Whenever I see them, I always give ten euros to a couple of poor Muslim refugees that live near my house”, an intellectual, who lives in both Italy and Switzerland recently told me. “We chat a little from time to time. But I sometimes I ask myself whether they actually see me as an infidel”. It would be nice to help the Swiss-Italian intellectual avoid feeling threatened by his Muslim neighbours. And it might be possible. The solution, though, is not to cut off the hands of the two Muslims. Neither is it to expel them from Europe, an impossible outcome. Closing the borders in order to prevent others arriving is also no solution as they would come anyway. And besides, any of these radical solutions would be a betrayal of Western ideals and the culture that the intellectual wishes to defend from the threat of a hostile interpretation of religion.
There is no alternative: refugees must be offered asylum and must be integrated into society.
Nevertheless, the fears and concerns of European citizens should not be underestimated or ridiculed. Every sociological study explains that the fear of those who are different is deeply rooted in societies and can often be seen in people’s willingness to help similar neighbours rather than foreign strangers. The reciprocal mistrust that feeds extremism does the rest. Social integration should be the focus of governments’ discussions and policies.
Providing work, housing, schools, and cultural and religious spaces to refugees also makes sense if we wish to avoid the French and British experience of ghettoization, where terrorism has been able to capture second and third-generation immigrants that have been marginalized from the mainstream. Likewise, it is necessary that those arriving respect the laws and customs of their host countries. Unfortunately, this aspect is not discussed enough in Europe.
The large influx of refugees offers an unprecedented and unexpected opportunity. IS terrorists may be hiding amongst them but we’ve already seen they have found alternative ways to enter Europe anyway. The overwhelming majority of arrivals are those fleeing sectarian extremism and violence. Can we succeed in giving them a voice and the tools to build a social and political entity in their own image, one capable of reciprocal respect? If the answer to this question is no, then the allure of liberal Europe’s culture is not as strong as we had previously thought.
The majority of Muslims seek refuge in Europe to escape the entrenched sectarian fundamentalism in their chaotic countries. These refugees can form a strong political movement, so the Muslim majority can finally speak out.
