Peace Beyond Borders

Like with any group of young people, generalizations cannot accurately reflect the wide diversity that occurs within Muslim youth in Europe. What they have in common: being raised as a second or third-generation Muslim in a European country and society. Many of these young people have grown up in a European culture with little difficult, feeling home in their country and accepting Western norms. They are viewed as “secular” Muslims. On the other hand, thanks to a history of oppression and pressure to assimilate (for example, laïcité in France and the President’s push for a “French Islam”), has caused some Muslim youth to move in the opposite direction and embrace a “return to Islam” in a rebellious, radical sense.

This reaction is less about religious zeal, and more finding a community and identity within a hostile environment. Complicated the issue of identity within their religion and ethnic background, Muslims arrive to Europe from all over: Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, etc… all with different traditions and interpretations of Islam and what it means to be Muslim. What does it mean to be Muslim in a Western society? These discourses aren’t just “West versus Islam” either; they occur between different sects, different ethnic groups, or between generations, with many young Muslims not necessarily sharing their parents’ views of how to live life now that they no longer live in a country where Islam is the dominating religion. Another example of generational distinction is the tendency for first-generation Muslim immigrants to be more self-contained, not as involved in Western communities, and to focus more on issues and politics of their home country, whereas younger Muslims have grown up in these Western communities and thus tend to become more involved.

For some Muslims, this conflict leads to becoming more secular, and for others, it means seeking out a more clearly-defined (and radical) identity within “True Islam”. For both sides, this main issue is about defining identity compared to or in contrast to Western society and its prejudices.

Muslim youth protesting for peace versus Muslim youth protesting in radicalization

Assimilation, Communitarianism, or Something New

Assimilation= the belief in total acceptance of the cultural they immigrated to or are citizens of. While they can remain Muslim, the practice of their religion must be private. This belief is present not just in white Europeans but also seen in some Muslims, a large portion of whom are part of the second or third-generations.

Communitarianism= the belief that Muslims should form cohesive societies separate from Western European culture, which then interacts with the state and society. In its most extreme form, this means some Muslims prefer to be isolated from Western society and follow strictly Islamic rules.

Muslim youth’s beliefs travel all across the spectrum, on an individual scale there is quite a wide variety of views in concern to Muslim communities in relation to their country. Politics, even within the same country, can vary in approach, and it is possible to try and find some middle ground between total assimilation and total communitarianism. With some many Muslims growing up and being a vital part of European society, many are looking for new approaches and modes of interaction.

For instance, is it possible to integrate into a society while still not assimilating? What roles do religion and spirituality have in both public and private spheres? Wherever the future takes Islam, it is inevitable that there will be more and more mix of cultures and ethnicities and traditions and politics. Instead of simply forcing a group to completely assimilate, or insist the two groups remain separate, there should be more exploration into how cultures can mesh and interact with each other, and for Muslim youth, how to grow up influences by both cultures.

Multiculturalism

Kenan Malik defines the “myth of diversity” as the misconception that Europe is only now more “diverse than ever”, as if before immigration from Africa or the Middle East, countries in Europe were just a mass of people who all viewed each other as the same. The reality is that in the 1700s and 1800s, Europeans were just as likely to view their country as diverse, but not in the way be define diversity today. And there were just as many political and cultural differences caused by these differences: the English hating the Irish, the French elite despising the rural poor, the Victorian gentleman acting as master over those working in the factories.

These views of “diversity” in terms of a recent trend place immigration as a modern problem for Europe, unparalleled any time else in history. Yet in 1905, Britons were just as suspicious and worried of European Jews moving to the United Kingdom, leading to the first immigration law, reflecting the fear that the incoming Jews would change what it meant to be British. The claim that European identity is eroding is not new, nor is the idea that Europe is now more multicultural – rather, our view of what it means for a society to be “diverse” has changed.

But multiculturalism is different from assimilation. Assimilation assumes that the culture already present is somehow “superior” or has the right to exist publicly, and those who immigrate must assimilate for the good of the society, keeping their home countries traditions and beliefs to the private realm. One society is placed in priority over others, for example with the French concept of laïcité: the idea that “French culture” (which up until the French Revolution wasn’t nearly so cohesive as would liked to be believed) was somehow superior and more important than those of immigrants’ home countries.

Multiculturalism, ideally, supports any and all cultures as co-existing in the same country without one dominating over the other. In some ways this has occurred in Europe, for example with Germany. As Malik points out, starting “in the 1980s, the government encouraged Turkish immigrants to preserve their own culture, language, and lifestyle. The policy did not represent a respect for diversity so much as a convenient means of avoiding the issue of how to create a common, inclusive culture.” The results of this are general indifference towards German culture on the part of Turks, and growing hostility towards Muslims on the part of Germans. Neither method of handling multiple cultures in the same country have produced very positive results.

Malik suggests solutions to the fracturing of European society:

1) recognize and separate the difference between diversity as a lived experience and multiculturalism as a political process. Diversity should be welcomed, while the institutionalization of it via multiculturalism should be avoided.

2) Europe should distinguish colorblindness from blindness to racism. In other words, just because a state chooses to view all their people as citizens instead of by ethnicity, that does not mean these differences or the discrimination of certain minorities should be ignored.

3) People need to be differentiated from values. Multiculturalists do not believe in the possibility of common values, while assimilationists support only a specific set of values. Both treat minorities as homogeneous groups and ignore the diversity within.

Europe’s Homegrown Terror

Sajan argues that the primary supply of terrorists and radicals that are responsible for attacks in Europe have been born in Europe and grew up within European culture, instead of from older immigrants as might be believed.

The possible reason for this goes back to the original argument above: Muslim youth grow up in a hostile environment, in a socioeconomic position within a society that through Islamophobia treats Muslims as unwelcome. These youth then seek out an identity with other Muslims, pursuing a stricter form of Islam rather than trying to assimilate or become more secular. This then leads into joining terrorist groups, enacting violence, and generally coming to view Western culture as the enemy.

Within the context of the information from Islam, Europe’s Second Religion, I agree with Sajan in this respect. But I still believe that Muslim youth who become radicalized are still in the minority, and most do not end up becoming violent.

Final Thoughts

I think that the final conclusions in Islam, Europe’s Second Religion are well thought out, and I can appreciate their approach of separating each chapter by country, to provide a general layer of history, before delving into other issues such as Muslim youth. Overall it is a good book, and it is clear the authors have done their research.

Baylee Konen

Blog Post 12: Muslim Youth in Europe

November 12, 2018November 12, 2018 peacebeyondborders

Question A

The struggle that is unique to Muslim youth in Europe is the divide of generations in their own families. Their parents, who were immigrants, were born in a complete Muslim Society where Islam was taught in all aspects of life (home, school, public sphere, etc.). Above all, it was accepted. The youth however, are natural born citizens of these European countries and view Islam very differently. They are the minority in Europe and that effects how they perceive their religion.

Muslim Youth identity manifests itself in many forms in Europe. However, because of this new social setting and that the Youth are growing up in a new culture, many young Muslims turn away from Islam to avoid discrimination: According to the book Islam: Europe’s Second Religion by Shireen Hunter, the youth see Islam as an “irrelevant vestige of the past that emphasizes their otherness,” And “this leads them to embrace secularism, eliminate Islam from their lives, and even ‘assimilate culturally to the host society’s ethos and prejudice”. These Muslims try to escape Islam from their identity but their ‘Muslim background’ and that of their parents is still discriminated against.

Another way the Muslim youth manifest their identity is to reaffirm it. These young people are in search for a ‘True Islam’. The roots of this identity are also from the discrimination they face in host countries. They feel rejected and a way to feel like they belong to something is by reaffirming their Muslimness. In the book Islam: Europe’s Second Religionby Shireen Hunter, the rejection from society young Muslims thus ‘takes the form of trying to strip away the varying cultural traditions that the first generation migrants have, rightly or wrongly assumed to be Islamic, from the ‘essential core’ of religion.”

These two Identities form because of the religious discrimination and social exclusion young Muslims experience. Because they feel like they don’t belong, they are forced to find their own identies and deviate from the identities of their parents.

Question B

Assimilation, communitarianism and new modes of integration affect the reality in which the Muslim Youth experience.

According to the book Islam: Europe’s Second Religionby Shireen Hunter, assimilationists “tend to believe that Muslims should accept the totality of the cultural and political residence or citizenship” and Communitarians “prefer Muslims to form cohesive communities, which can then enter into systematic dialogue with state and society.”

These two views are complete opposites. Assimilationists choose to adapt to the host countries’ cultural and political spheres while Communitarians want to create a space for Islam in European societies. In my opinion, Communitarians advocate for a more inclusive and tolerable society and Assimilationists change themselves to fit into an oppressive society. The only comparison that I can find is both groups are advocating for a change in Islamic principles to fit a new society.

The reality of it is, however, that Muslim communities have adapted along the range of being assimilationist to communitarian. With concern to the Muslim youth, Hunter states in her book that they focus on “integration without complete assimilation.” Meaning that a society needs to have a little bit of both ideals to function efficiently.

Question C

In the article The Failure of Multiculturalism, author Kenan Malik discusses the diversity myth and how it affects multiculturalism.

The diversity myth is the false belief we as humans are different because of our ethnic backgrounds. In his article, Malik gives an example of a Muslim from Bangladesh and a White Brit who grew up in the same neighborhood in the U.K. He says that they, and society, may think they are different because of their ethnicities, but in reality they share many similarities. This is the essence of the diversity myth. Because they grew up in the same neighborhood, that has more weight than their ethnic background.

Multiculturalism is the acceptance of all cultures. In his article, Malik proposes that Europe should “rediscover a progressive sense of universal values” to overcome the failure of multiculturalism. Assimilation is different, because this suggests that no progression occurs as new cultures are introduced to European society. Multiculturalism is overcome by acceptance.

Question D

The gist of the article Decoding Europe’s Homegrown Terror is that the reason for the recent terrorist attacks in Europe are not because Islam is a dangerous religion, but because of the discrimination the second generation Muslims have faced in Europe. Their loss of identity as a Muslim and their otherness has caused them to try to find their Muslim identity once again, and often the groups that are first to reach out are the radical ones.

Before I started this class, or attended this university, I would have disagreed with this article. I thought Islam was a radical religion and I did not have the knowledge or information to believe it wasn’t. But, during my time at this university I have learned about diversity and what it feels like to be in someone else’s shoes. And I can understand the point of this article now. If I was constantly discriminated against and excluded from society, I would be upset too. I can also understand how the lack of knowledge of Islam would produce radical beliefs. So, now, I agree with this article because I know how feeling like the ‘other’ can affect one’s beliefs in their place in society. We all need a place where we feel like we belong.

Question E

My concluding remarks on this blog post is we as humans are more divided than ever. In the U.S., it is shocking to see the 50/50 divide on some of the hottest issues. I still don’t understand the situation with Islam in Europe completely, and I will need to do more research on it to better understand. However, I have learned so much about Islam in this class and it has helped me better understand how Muslims, and minorities as a whole, are affected by discrimination in society.

Amanda Barner

Blog Post 11: Intercultural Divide and Italy

November 5, 2018 peacebeyondborders

unnamed The narrative of “Islam vs the West” represents a cultural divide, a story of polarized viewpoints, adversarial framing of historical relations, and the identification of “us” in contrast to “them”. As stated in the article, Islam and the West: Narratives of Conflict and Conflict Transformation, “Dominant Middle Eastern and American narratives about relations between Islam and the West focus on the manner in which their respective civilizations have defined themselves in opposition to each other.” The narratives are primarily based around intercultural confrontation: when cultures have clashed, glossing over the times cultures have worked together. The “West” sees the “Islamic world” as barbaric and inferior to the West, more violent and backwards, and similar can be said of the view of the West as suffering from “moral decay and a disintegration of family values”. Since the Iranian Revolution and the questioning of European supremacy, the West’s view of the Middle East has shifted from exotic and beautiful to dangerous. The media and politics often use this to their advantage and escalate the matter with portrayals of the “other” without context or accuracy. The overall end result, and theme, of the story of intercultural confrontation then is that the two sides are forever at war with each other, unable to meet or find common ground.

19141584_10100232909973932_1333706989_n-1 — According to this image, while the West developed flight, Muslims didn’t age for over 100 years.

However, there is a story of intercultural compatibility that can be told, even if it’s often ignored. Both cultures seek common values: peace, toleration, human dignity. Islam has a long history of trade with Europe, and in both the ancient and modern world education and knowledge crosses over frequently. “Whereas the first story seeks to trace the roots of conflict overwhelmingly to cultural differences, the second story attempts to combine cultural and political analysis.”

This myth that intercultural compatibility is impossible ruins chances for transformation before they even begin. If both sides believe that searching for common ground, and perhaps changing a little to accommodate each other, is out of the question, then neither culture really grows. Instead, views become ore polarized in an effort to justify any violent measures or wars taken against the other. Though it may sound impossible, some form of peace must be established to offer balance to the world; a chance to see the other side’s point of view, before they become too polarized beyond recognition.

Islam in Italy

The first (recent) wave of immigrants into Italy occurred during the 1970s-80s, first from Latin America and the Philippines, later from Africa and the Maghreb. It was from Africa especially that Muslims began to enter Italy, and with them the realization of permanent settlement of immigrants; different from France or Britain where there was a prevailing “myth of return”.

Unlike many other European countries, mosques organized and built in Italy are not created by and for immigrant workers, but by and for intellectual elites from the Middle East, particularly Palestine. It was only later that this changed and the use of mosques, and the culture surrounding Islam in Italy, changed. Also different from other European countries, Italian Muslims have a wide variety of origin countries, a rapid entry and settlement rate, a higher number of irregular immigrants, and more geographic dispersion. In France, Germany, and Britain, as we’ve seen, Muslim populations tend to focus around big cities, but in Italy there is no such tendency.

An intesa is a legal recognition of a religion by the state, which provides judicial and economical advantages. Examples of religions that have signed an intesa are the Adventist church, the Baptist church, the Union of Jewish Communities, and the Lutheran church. Since the 1990s, the Muslim community has been trying to gain an intesa, but some factors have gotten in the way of this happening.

The largest problem is that many Muslims are not Italian citizens, and most of the agreements have been met with historically established communities. Also, the number of Italian converts to Islam is still small, and thus Muslims do not currently represent a powerful political group. Linking problems of immigration to Islam by Italians creates a cultural barrier, as if Muslims are somehow more “alien” or “different” than non-Muslim Italians. This follows off the persisting image throughout Europe as Islam being the enemy. This has prevented Islam from being legally recognized by the Italian state.

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Baylee Konen

Blog 11 : Islam in Italy

November 4, 2018November 4, 2018 peacebeyondborders

Question A

In the article Islam and the West: Narratives of conflict and conflict transformation by Nathan C. Funk and Abdul Aziz Said, it discusses how the combination of intercultural confrontation and intercultural compatibility can lead to conflict transformation.

First of all, intercultural confrontation concerns the creation of the ‘other’ in Islam and Western relationships. All of the intercultural confrontation, or the hostility that we see, is created by a series of images: both the images that Americans hold of Muslims and Muslims hold of Americans. These images cause false stereotypes of each group and create friction between them.

2011-Muslim-West-01 — Image from Pew Global Attitudes

According to the article , the ‘other’ has been constructed as “an inferior rival or shadow of the ‘self’ that has led to the dehumanizing stereotypes as well as to the habits of selective perception in which negative interactions are remembered while more positive
encounters are forgotten.” Do you see how this can be problematic? Such images as these have caused Islam-Western relationships to reach an all-time low and have cause violent attacks such as 9/11.

In an effort to change this hostility, intercultural compatibility works on focusing on the shared cultural values of Islam and the West. It is called the “second story” of intercultural compatibility. The article states “Because Islam and the west partake in common bonding cultures, they can coexist if a clash of symbols is not mistaken for a clash of substances. Preventing this cognitive error is possible, provided that the spokespersons for the Muslims and Westerners act to demystify conflicts and emphasize cultural commonalities while accommodating differences, and differentiate between constructive and destructive means of redressing grievances.” This, with the combination of changing the hostility of intercultural confrontation is how many academics say the two civilizations can get rid of the single story.

These two ideas lead to conflict transformation, the elimination of the single story and the elimination of the thought process of the people of Islam and of the West thinking that it is “us versus them”. By changing the images of each society and focusing on the cultural commonalities of Islam and the West, it will affect conflict transformation in a positive way and hopefully reduce the exclusion of Muslims in the West and the hostility of the West in the Islamic World.

Question B

According to the book Islam: Europe’s Second Religion by Shireen Hunter, Muslim integration into Italy is more of a return rather than a movement. Italy’s Islam integration differs from other countries in that they did not colonize the middle east. Additionally, the immigrants have a diversity of countries of origin, a rapid pace of entry and settlement, a higher number of irregular immigrants, and a higher level of geographic dispersion.

This, in turn, has created less problems in Italy in comparison to those seen in other European countries. Unlike in France, where most Muslims come from concentrated nations such as Algeria, Italy has many diverse nationalities in its Muslim population. Also, unlike in France, there are no Muslim ‘ghettos’ in Italy. This dispersion throughout the country has given Muslims less of an obvious foreign identity and has helped immensely.

In Italy, Roman Catholics have religious priority, however, other religious groups can file an ‘intesa’ with the Italian government to have their religion recognized by the state. The main issue for the Muslim community is that many of the immigrants are not Italian citizens and plan to return back to their country. This causes a lack of political power in the muslim community in Italy. Another factor is the use of Arabic as the principal of religious expression for Islam. This reinforces the sense of the alienation of Islam in Italy.

Amanda Barner

Blog 10: Fundamentalists in the Islamic World

October 30, 2018 peacebeyondborders

A History of Jihad

After the retreat of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan in 1989 (and its eventual defeat in 1991), several new nations were brought into the Muslims world, and at the same time militant jihadists who had taken up arms wanted to create an ideal Islamic state to govern said Muslim world.

soviet-afghan war — Soviet troops are pulled out of Afghanistan after the Soviet-Afghan War.

And though fundamentalist groups have always been a minority and their beliefs do not reflect the majority of Muslims, that does change the fact that they are a very vocal and violent force with a vision reactionary to that of Western imperialism and democracy. From Afghanistan in particular, arose the well-known Taliban, but in most Muslim countries there is some radical force present. The common belief held amongst the varying groups is the pursuit of the “glory days” of medieval Islam, which in reality was just as troubled as any other part of history, but within their created dogma represents tradition and purity that modern Islam does not possess. Another nod to this vision of “traditional Islam” in the creation of an Islamic state in the reliance on sharia law.

Continue reading “Blog 10: Fundamentalists in the Islamic World” →

Baylee Konen

Blog 10: Fundamentalism and Sharia Law

October 29, 2018October 29, 2018 peacebeyondborders

Question A

Chapter eight in the Book The no-nonsense guide to Islam by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies explains the historic foundation of the Jihadi fundamentalist movements.

After most countries gained independence in the 1950s, it was discovered that economic prosperity would not come as most citizens had hoped. Additionally, the rulers of the new Muslim states were not those who had fought for independence, rather they were westernized elites who had condemned traditionalist views and acted as surrogates for the past colonial powers. Consequently, all forms of tradition were suppressed in a traditionally inclined society.

Countries_with_Sharia_rule — Image from Wikimedia

From this suppression birthed the Jihadist fundamentalist movement in Afghanistan and Iran. The Jihadists in Afghanistan fought against the Soviets and the Jihadists in Iran fought in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This is the beginning of the Jihadist movement. After fighting against oppressive powers, the Jihadists wanted to create and Ideal Islamic state.

In almost every Muslim country, militant fundamentalists are making their presence felt and calling for an Islamic state. They push for tradition and see western and modernized countries as a threat to Islam. Their goal is to maintain the same standard of Islam as in the Medieval times. In the Islamic State, Islam and the state are one entity and cannot go without ine another.

Question B

Chapter eight in the Book The no-nonsense guide to Islam by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies briefly explain sharia law.

Sharia Law is God’s revelation. Literally, it means ‘the way’. Modern Sharia law has no connection with the Qur’an and virtually all Islamic states (those who enforce Islamic law) in contemporary times are authoritarian and oppressive. The Qur’an has few rules and regulations and says “there is no compulsion to religion”. Which, in the modern sharia law, this inherently contradicts.

The puritan fundamentalists are concerned with the crime and punishment of the all-ruling Sharia law. They call these laws as Hubud laws, or the outer limit of the laws. This is the maximum and most extreme punishment that can be given for a crime: This includes stoning adulterers and cutting off the hands of a thief.

Question C

From interpreting the readings, I don’t think Islamic law has always been consumed with punishment. In fact, I think muslims had many more freedoms in the past than they do today. I think Sharia law is old law and is meant for personal use and should be interpreted according to personal opinion. The problem with institutionalizing sharia law is the strictest interpretation of it can become universal for all of Islam.

dates-that-the-mena-nations-received-their-independence-after-colonial-rule-many-since-the-times-of-the-persians-or-even-earlier — Image from beyondthecusp.wordpress.com

This, in my opinion, is when the fundamentalist perspective becomes the extremist perspective. In my opinion, what has changed between new interpretation of sharia law and old interpretation of sharia law started with globalization. I think the introduction of new ideals and colonization completely flipped Islam upside down. Because of this, it birthed the extremist views we see today. It is the very harsh attempt to keep people in the past and preserve the Islamic culture. This consequently has caused people to become oppressed and flee from their countries.

Question D

Musawah means ‘equality’. According to their website, the musawah organization works on creating equality is Muslim families. Their key messages are “international advocacy” , “knowledge building”, and “capacity building”.

MusawahWaysWeWork — Image from Musawah.org

In knowledge building, they work on creating access to knowledge and create new knowledge about women’s rights in Islam. They apply the feminist lens to Muslim contexts. In capacity building, they build the voices of women leaders and push for an alternative understanding of Islam. In international advocacy, they work on strengthening regions and international visibility of the Muslim family. They work to fight against discrimination of Muslim women and the Muslim family.

My assessment of this association is that it is positive. They are attempting to recreate the world’s stigma of Islam while at the same time gifting back the rights to women who have lost them. I think this is a very progressive movement and have no doubt that it is making an impact in Muslim communities. I think, however, that this organization is going to be hard to implement at all levels of Islam, especially where sharia law is active. Although, I do like that they are attempting to reinterpret laws so that they include equality for all people.

Amanda Barner

Blog 9: Escaping and Integrating into Europe

October 23, 2018 peacebeyondborders

A Journey of Sacrifices

bi_graphics_europe's refugee crisis (1) The film “#MyEscape” is truly eye-opening in how it takes you along with refugees, filmed by refugees, as they escape from their homelands to Germany. As one of the men remarks in Part 2, “You viewers can experience our problems with us.” His words reflect the power of documentaries like this. Often news of refugees are simplified to pictures of overloaded rafts of nondescript people whom you cannot relate to because no personal information is given. You don’t know of their dreams, their beliefs, their families. In the news they are just a symbol of a political agenda, whether for or against immigration. Here, we as viewers are allowed to experience some of the tension and fear along with the refugees as they cross seas, deserts, and borders in hopes of a better future. Particularly gut-wrenching are the stories of the 8-year-old nephew and the 15-year-old girl who otherwise could have been forced into marriage. A final shot from the documentary shows her with her brother, enjoying a ride on a rollercoaster, and another where the nephew builds a snowman. These remind us of just how young some of the refugees are. Since we can identify personally with these people, we are invested in their journey and feel their relief as they finally make it to Germany, where they are welcomed.

Even after watching the film, I still had a difficult time piecing together The Dispossessed comic in the way the film laid out the journey. I could recognize certain similarities in the journey — the raft, the train, etc. — but some of the layout and text bubbles were not drawn in a very clear manner, nor does the comic convey the same amount of suspense and fear as footage from the actual escape. The photos throughout help, making the reading experience feel more realistic, but because most of it is drawn, a lot of the conflict and journey feels like fiction. I am reminded of a similar experience watching a film called “Waltz with Bashir”, which tells the story of an Israeli soldier who cannot remember the Sabra and Shatila massacre (a 2-day massacre of mainly Palestinian and Lebanon Shiite civilians). The majority of the film is animated and makes the action and violence seem more fantastical, but at the very end the film switches over to real footage of the aftermath of the massacre, instantly forcing the viewer to recognize how real and terrible the event was. The same can be said with the The Dispossessed versus “#MyEscape”. One feels like reading something removed from reality, while the other forces you to watch actual recorded events as if you were there.

Waltz-With-Bashir — Animated style of *Waltz with Bashir* (left) versus real footage (right)

Islam plays a small role in both of the stories, but the comic highlights it more than the documentary. In the documentary, the refugees are shown holding signs that say “Terrorism has no religion”, and only seem relatively religious when singing songs praising Jesus for their rescue on the ocean. Some of this is echoed in the comic where the refugees praise God when they are being saved from the raft. Later, at the end of the article, it is pointed out that during a night of crossing the Baltic Sea, some Muslim refugees found special meaning in the holiday it occurred on: Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice (referencing the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to follow Allah’s (God’s) command to sacrifice his son.) As they reach shore and bid the other refugees farewell, they wish each other a traditional Syrian blessing commonly said on major holidays, “May every year return, and you are safe.” So in some ways, though perhaps not as prominent as the media would have us believe, Islam can play a meaningful role in the sacrifices and harrowing journeys of Muslim refugees.

A Failure to Integrate

To make the journey even more difficult, for many Muslims their end destination can be as difficult to live in and their home country, with the addition of new languages to learn (for example, the refugees in the film are shown learning German), and issues of what Zemeni and Parker call a “failure to integrate” into European culture. This is primarily due to historical differences: most of the European countries, despite sharing a history with the Islamic world, were built on primarily Christian values. While many (especially Western) European countries claim secularism as a guiding value, this does not dismiss the fact that the underlying values of historical Christianity (for example certain holidays, traditions, how gender is viewed) do not come into play.

lq3z7ffge0nz — Notice that most of Europe in divided into categories of Christianity (Catholic vs Protestants) for a majority of 72%, while Muslims make up only around 2%.

Though Europe claims to be tolerant and diverse, the diversity only goes so far. It is the difference between being German or French or Italian: there are differences in the countries’ cultures, but they all belong within Europe. Much of the Islamic world is viewed as regressive or not modern enough to fit within European values. One potent example is the controversy over headscarves which represent a stark difference in how the different cultures address gender and public modesty. There is also the tendency to recognize and accept the differences between European countries, while treating many Arab and African countries as all the same. This makes it all the more difficult to allow Muslims to integrate and be accepted in European culture.

Baylee Konen

Blog 9: The Refugee Crisis in Europe

October 22, 2018 peacebeyondborders

Question 1

Authors Zemni and Parker in Chapter 13 in the Book Islam: Europe’s Second Religion by Shireen Hunter claim that the “failure of Integration” of Muslims in Europe is at the cause of a divide of perceived values. The European values, or identities, are: tolerance, humanity, and fraternity and at the same time holding each country’s culture valid and true. An important thing to note about this is that the roots of these values came from Christianity, not Islam. In my opinion this is the great divider because a culture is an umbrella term for how societies are built; and one of the fundamental aspects of what builds a society is religion. The feeling of an individual culture but a shared religion is the culprit of the issues of Islam immigration.

The European Identity came as a result of EU immigration: it is the identity that we live on one continent, therefore we are similar; but we are different in that We come from different countries and cultures. The idea that one can be German-European or Spanish-European lead to the construction of “Multicultural Europe”, and this is used against Islam immigration because Muslims do not fit into the mold of multiculturality. In other words, they don’t fit in.

For example, the eastern European country of Turkey has tried numerous times to join the European Union but it is constantly rejected because it’s values are not ‘European’. The EU claims that its views are universalist, but yet the ideological framework of the union is set up to exclude those even within their own continent. According to the book, when Turkey wanted to join, the Union, in its discussion, said: “the Turks are not culturally up for it. In other words, the repressive and exclusivist practices of the Turkish state are not mere slips on the path toward the fulfillment of the European enlightenment project but a fundamental incomprehension of it.” To reinforce this point of European enlightenment, the EU used the addition of Eastern European countries (specifically the most economically robust ones) as a tool to obtain a universal and lovable reputation.

The silenced discrimination of Turkey has been an icon when it comes to the discrimination of Muslims in Europe. Since the 1970s, European lawmakers have seen Moroccan, Algerian, and Middle eastern immigrants as one identity: Muslims. This consequently has caused additional discrimination: It is like the people of Turkey when they asked for membership to the EU and they were seen as Muslims and not as Turks/European citizens. This begs the question: Why can’t one be a Muslim, a Turkish citizen, and a European citizen? This is because, for the EU, a European Identity means a Christian Identity. Because Muslims who immigrate to Europe do not convert to Christianity, they are seen as “unfit” or “the other” in European society.

Europe is Multicultural, but it is also historically Christian.

Question 2

My assessment of the Dispossessed is that we as Humans live in many different perspectives of the same world. I think the comic puts the situation in layman’s terms and proves the point of many different perspectives that I am trying to make. The different viewpoints of the crisis from the Refugee’s perspective and the Westerners perspective is vastly contrasted: The same place (Bodrum, Turkey) that refugees are being smuggled into Greece is the same place European tourists are vacationing.

The film really opened my eyes to this crisis because it showed real time footage of what is happening. After watching the film and reading the article, I am shocked that this is the first time I have ever been exposed to the refugee perspective. I have heard so much about the economic perspective, the political perspective, and the religious perspective on this situation in the United states. But, what about the humanistic perspective?

I think Western civilization uses Islam as a mask to treat refugees as objects rather than humans. Majority of the time I don’t think it is on purpose, rather it is the constant reinforcing of Islam as a dangerous and barbaric religion, and everyone who practices it represents terrorist groups. That myth is what Westerners believe to be true and this creates Islam as a representation of terrorism rather than a representation refugees fleeing from their war-torn homelands in search for a better life.

What significantly caught my attention in this film is that all who migrated were Muslim, but they were also humans in need of help. I think the humanistic perspective is one we can never forget.

Amanda Barner

Blog 8: Islam in France

October 15, 2018 peacebeyondborders

History of Muslims in France

The first large wave of Muslim immigrants to France occurred during World War I, when labor demands in industry, the military, and the mines brought primarily Algerians and Moroccans to France. This continued in post-war construction, and by the time of World War II, France began pulling from North Africa. But it was only starting in the 1960s that large-scale migrations of Muslims began, arriving mainly from Africa, followed by the Turks in the 70s. It was during this time Europe’s economic boom dropped off, and with it the need for immigrant labor, creating a large population of unemployed people. Despite incentives created to encourage immigrants (largely men) to return to their home countries, it created the exact opposite result, as many women and children moved to France to settle down permanently, and with them came a more solid foundation of Islam in France (7).

Islamisierung-Frankreichs-678x381 — The increasing number of mosques and Islamic schools in France, mirroring the increase in Muslim population, as well as the skewed geographical density.

As reflected in the map above, Muslim populations tended to skew towards settling in large cities (Paris and its suburbs account for 38% of the Muslim population in France), and this combined with unemployment led to a “ghetto phenomenon” (7). Thankfully this has not stopped Muslim children from being able to get an education, as most immigrant children are able to complete high school and pursue university. However, the “ghetto” phenomenon does point to a larger problem in France: a separation of Muslims from the rest of French society.

It’s roots grow from the tradition of laïcité (discussed later in depth), which was established in “1905, when France’s Third Republic enacted the separation of church and state” (3), which originally was created to disestablish the Catholic Church after clashes between Catholics and Protestants (5). This date would again come up in recent times when President François Hollande declared December 9th a “Day of Laïcité” “reinforcing the teaching of laïcité in public schools” (4).

For nearly a century, laïcité worked fairly well. It “ensured public space for both those who believed — not just Catholics and Protestants, but Jews as well — and those who did not. But with the 1980s and 1990s came a growing number of immigrants, most of whom were Muslim, from North Africa” (6). As it turned out, this French tradition would play a critical role in how Muslims were viewed, revealing cracks in the practice of secularism.

Secularism in France and Europe

Laïcité, translated as secularism, carries a deeper meaning in France that means the separation of church and state “through the state’s protection of individuals from the claims of religion” (1); creating essentially a mythology of France as a special and superior type of secularism. Within this is the idea of communautarisme, where the group identity is placed above that of individuals. Religion is supposed to be relegated to the private life, while everyone who wishes to “become French” must publicly adhere to the secular vision of the French republic.

399506d1c6d84e52cf4d550bb098fb2b216b568aff27efa79765890e7b6fcf20 — Muslim women carry signs reading, “This is not provocation, just my freedom of conscience.” in response to Islamophobia in France.

Islam creates a challenge for laïcité, specifically with the public wearing of headscarves which do not fit into the image of secular France. But more generally, Islam challenges the French republican belief that equality is achieved through sameness, and Muslims are viewed as inherently different. Because some of them will not give up the signs of their culture, and Muslims in general have been grouped together as all seeming the same in comparison to “real French” people, their existence is viewed as not capable of being assimilated into French culture.

This isn’t solely a French issue, as many Western European countries have long tried to portray themselves as superior over “Islam” or “the Orient”. Throughout Europe, there is this idea that “politics and society are meant to operate without any religious influence” (2). But this doesn’t always happen, as a Spaniard comments, “(we haven’t really succeeded in removing religion from the public sphere. Instead, we’ve been left with a sort of non-religious cultural Christianity that we call secularism” (2). This white “secular” Christianity across Western Europe is often positioned as the opposition to Islam: without necessarily meaning to, the values of white Christianity are seen as the ideals of the republic, automatically placing the different traditions of Islam as “other”. It allows Christianity to be privileged as culture while Islam and Muslims are strictly viewed within the boundaries of religion (3). If this sounds far-fetched, consider how Christian holidays continue to remain on calendars and are seen often as “state” or “secular” events, versus Jewish and Muslim holidays which are always positioned as religious holidays.

So it is not that secularism is strictly a French issue, but laïcité is unique with its potential to affect one of the largest populations of Muslims in Europe (7).

References:

Scott, Joan Wallach. The politics of the veil. Princeton University Press, 2009.
https://www.salon.com/2016/11/27/europe-is-not-a-secular-paradise-and-americans-should-be-careful-when-embracing-this-myth/
https://tif.ssrc.org/2016/10/11/a-new-christianist-secularism-in-europe/
https://newrepublic.com/article/127179/time-france-abandon-laicite
http://science.jrank.org/pages/11240/Secularization-Secularism-History-Nature-Secularization-Secularism-1914.html
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/07/the-battle-for-the-french-secular-soul-laicite-charlie-hebdo/
Leveau, Remy and Shireen Hunter. Islam, Europe’s second religion: The new social, cultural, and political landscape. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.

Baylee Konen

Blog 8: Islam In France

October 15, 2018 peacebeyondborders

Question 1

The historical background of Islam in France is a lengthy one. In the book Islam: Europe’s Second Religion by Shireen Hunter, it explains that the Muslim immigration to France was based on the relations between France and its old territories. In the 20^thcentury, during both world wars and periods of economic boom, France needed labor. Consequently, men from Islamic countries, primarily Algeria and Morocco, came to France to do the jobs that the French didn’t want to do. France, when the economy slowed down, expected most immigrants to leave. Many did, however at the same time many didn’t because of the fear of not being able to return back to France in the future.

In the past, Muslims fought for the French in wars and also aided in the country’s reconstruction. One particular group of Muslims, the Harkis, fought for the French in the War of Independence and were now traitors in Algeria and could not return. However, even though they fought for France, the French people did not welcome the Harkis or other Muslim groups back with open arms. Politically, France grouped the Harkis and other variations of Islam (Sunnis, Shi’ites, etc.) into one. This lack of understanding of the diversity of Islam caused the Muslims to be recognized as one group and therefore as “second class citizens” in France.

There is now a “ghetto” culture in France in that the unemployment rate for Muslims is more than double than the national average and because of this they have a significantly lower socioeconomic status. The discrimination Muslims have faced due to France’s generally non-religious atmosphere has affected them economically, and what fuels political and economic issues between Muslims and non-Muslims are these economic issues. Many of the Islamic communities are segregated from non-Muslim communities and live in large cities such as Paris and Marseilles. This has ignited the conflict between both the groups because the socioeconomic factors differ substantially.

60c3202a6d2069c40e0b5a07fe12e7b860605467419e0961b6fe6be2c43ab703 — Image from The Local, France

Socially, it has been hard for Muslims to integrate into French society because France has a strict divide between church and state. Muslims expect the government to intervene and fight for their right to build mosques or create space for Muslim burial grounds: this is problematic because Muslims don’t realize that these things will never happen because it would require the government to make decisions with consideration of religion.

However, France is implementing “positive discrimination”, a kind of affirmative action toward young Muslims in an attempt to help the Muslim communities. This, hopefully, will aid younger Muslims into the labor market and give them a fair chance at a career.

Question 2

France has been a secular nation since 1905 when they passed a bill to separate church and state. According to the Book Islam: Europe’s Second Religion by Shireen Hunter, Muslims have had a hard time adjusting to France’s secularism, but also have created their own secular groups as some Muslims find a middle ground between Islamic and French culture.

The secular Muslims in France adhere to a secular ideology with antireligion intertwined with it. Secular Muslims push for westernization of Islamic culture and do not closely follow Islamic ritual. Rather, they participate mostly in major cultural celebrations of Islam. The secular Muslims are mostly intellectuals and fall on the left side of the political spectrum; or in other words, the socialist party.

large — Image from National Secular Society.

Apart from the Secular Muslims, there are also many other political groups that have quite different ideals. There are absolute secularists, which of whom are minorities in the Muslim community, but believe in reinterpretation Islamic principles and being Muslim with the framework of republican laws. Additionally, many Muslims are fundamentalists. They believe in strictly adhering to traditional Islamic principles and strict observance of all Islamic prescriptions with direct interpretation from the Qur’an. The fundamentalists are the least likely group to change their religious culture for the sake of another’s.