Muslims in Europe A Shared Citizenship Transcending the Imposition of Cultural Homogeneity
Introduction
It is by acknowledging Europe and Islam’s overlapping history that one can attain an “overlapping consensus,” whereby there are political, ethical or societal values which can be points of convergence or compatibility between two seemingly conflicting parties. In this regard one of the strengths of Islam historically has been its transfusion across cultures. Consequently one has a hierarchy of values such as human dignity, tolerance, liberty, equality, and respect for human rights, democratic values, and religious values.
The paper will therefore show how the objective of developing a “common democratic civic culture” based on a common hierarchy of values, while encouraging interaction between the communities living in the same country is the key for peaceful co-existence. This in itself represents the ethos of shared citizenship, a social contract conducive to governing relations in a pluralist society, entailing the safeguarding and respect of the rights of all, and the good of all society. The mutually shared values and principles would therefore be a means of both communities working together for the betterment of their society.
There is no doubt that over the last several years, European governments have come to recognize the necessity of better integrating their Muslim populations, and have continued to grapple with a number of policy issues. Europe’s endeavor to accommodate its Muslim population also needs to be understood in the context of the displacement of religion from the political sphere which was to be secular, rational and representative. Particularly the resulting inability to understand how in the 21st century religion can still be an intricate part of a people’s way of life especially in a society where finally it is human agency and thought that is paramount, and man the sole architect of his fate. This at the same time reflects the challenges of a Western-secular environment for Muslims.
Scholarship in the West has thus seen increased focus on the interaction of the state with its Muslim minorities, through its integration and immigration policies, accommodation of religious practices, as well as discourse on shifting identities and identity negotiation. However it is not just within Europe itself, but also the imperatives of today’s globalized and interdependent world that necessitate the West and the Muslim world’s having many reasons to work together towards greater understanding, interaction and cooperation.
Shared citizenship is a means of granting people the right to maintain affiliation with their ethnic group, as well as the right for cultural and religious differences to be displayed in the public domain. It would mean a meeting space for Islam and secularism whereby the entire society adheres to the same constitution of fundamental rights and obligations. It implies that one can be a practicing Muslim and live in a secular, pluralist and democratic society. Further more it would reflect Europe’s general culture of tolerance and religious freedom, but also particularly require a Europe that is willing to address its spiritual, ethical and moral heritage.
Through the various issues discussed, the objective is therefore to draw the attention of European governments and policy makers to the polarizing effects inherent in initiatives which would be deemed as discriminatory and biased by an increasingly more aware and assertive Muslim citizenry which is also expected to constitute a youth “bulge” of native-born Muslims in the future. It is also important to provide a Muslim perspective, and inform European governments and publics on how such an approach would be further viewed by Muslims as one where the burden through requiring greater assimilation, now lies primarily with them.
Therefore, the paper seeks to show how it is imperative for European governments and policy makers to review policies and legislation that can engender social polarization, insecurity, radicalization, broader exclusion of Muslim communities, as well as add to the prevailing climate of fear in their societies. This is particularly significant in the backdrop of the financial and economic crisis, whereby European societies themselves as a whole are witnessing greater social and economic issues and rifts.
To begin with the paper addresses the concept of multiple identities in the context of shared citizenship. As the citizenship and integration issue has emerged as a major determinant in the relationship between Europe and Islam, the paper provides a contextual background and setting, as an insight into how the discourse of Europe’s relationship with its Muslim citizens framed within the paradigm of contesting cultures has evolved. A review of the evolution of policies and legislation regarding the veil ban and immigration will seek to reveal how increasingly near some, model citizenship is one defined by cultural homogeneity. Following from this is a brief discussion of how a shared citizenship should be defined in the context of a culturally diverse society seeking peaceful coexistence. This then leads to the key aspect of formulating policy guidelines and recommendations for the various actors in order to realize the vision of a “shared future.”
Multiple Identities and Shared Citizenship
The different kinds of legislation addressing Muslims can be seen as a manifestation of Europe’s sometimes conflicting and contradictory endeavors of seeking to integrate its Muslim community. The veil and the (building of) mosques particularly, as symbols of Islam have thus become contentious issues in a time where there is seen to be an emergence and consolidation of an Islam of Europe, born and socialized in Europe. It should also be noted that these issues have assumed center stage in those countries where the percentage of Muslims in the total population is among the highest. In addition, as the largest religious minority in Europe, Europe’s Muslim population is ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse with Muslims hailing from different regions and countries such as Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey.
Further more in Western Europe the ‘immigrant’, religious, racial or ethnic socio-economically disadvantaged ‘other’ tends to fall under the rubric of the Muslim other. An individual whose Islam and Islamic culture in ways ranging from dress codes to arranged marriages is seen as challenging European societal norms. Yet, it should however be mentioned at the outset, of the contradictory and discriminatory use of the term “immigrant.” For many of those who are referred to as such, are often not immigrants under any legal or technical definition of that term. For despite having been born in a European country and lived there all their lives, they are marked out because their appearance and life-styles distinguish them from the indigenous population.
Thus as the Muslim population in Europe continues to grow, the transformation of this group is measured by the criteria of compatibility with supposedly European values/culture i.e. its Europeanization. The view that integration should precede naturalization i.e. that Muslims should first assimilate and demonstrate their “European-ness” is therefore seen as a means to refusing to grant citizenship. Whereas citizenship in essence is the right to equal opportunities, the right of not being discriminated against, and the right of a minority to preserve its culture, religion, customs and language. Therefore the various aspects of the discourse engendering societal tensions such as the veil ban, immigration policies intended to screen “inappropriate” immigrants, the rise of the far-right, and the mantra of “nothing is sacred” need to be guarded against. All of which however can be regarded as symptomatic; manifestations of a Europe seeking its own identity in a transforming cultural environment.
In the same vein, as European citizens many Muslims only seek to distinguish themselves culturally as a means to retaining their religious values and religious identity. Thus to be a European citizen should not mean negation of ones religious/Muslim or ethnic identity. In this respect it is significant to point out that despite a European Union, Europe is not a unity in social, political or cultural terms. Few Europeans are willing to abandon their national identity for the more abstract identity of Europe. Similarly, sensitivity is required for Muslims desiring to maintain their own identities within the context of a European or national identity. In both cases there is space for multiple identities in the context of shared citizenship.
At the same time it is also important to note that issues surrounding citizenship and integration centre as much on economic and social exclusion, as on religious differences. Therefore ensuring non-discrimination in the key areas of social and political life is crucial to the integration of Muslims as participating citizens. This in turn is linked to the significant point of how integration is viewed by Muslims. If perceived as assimilation it blocks the way to mutual interaction, while if perceived as a new emerging form of citizenship it facilitates this interaction. Reciprocity requires that for Muslims too, the onus is on them to address the issues of alienation, exclusion, insecurity or identity in members of their community, in some cases self inflicted and not always the result of government apathy or western society.
In this regard the recognition of a plural or heterogeneous European identity is a concept many realize Europe will need to come to terms with. For example in discussing contemporary Europeanization and the idea of a Post-Western Europe, Delanty contends that a new European identity more in tune with the current reality of a polynational, polyethnic and multicentric Europe will emerge. Near Ramadan Europe must learn to reconcile itself with the diversity of its past in order to master the imperative pluralism of its future. While Casanova pointedly states that while religious people are expected to tolerate behavior they may consider morally abhorrent as homosexuality, liberal secular Europeans openly state that European societies ought not to tolerate behavior or cultural customs that are morally abhorrent in so far as they are contrary to modern liberal secular European norms.
Though there are those who contend that Islam should not be treated as a special case and neither Muslims given preferential rights, it is inevitable and imperative that the needs and rights of Muslims are taken into account for an inclusive, citizenship to materialize. Yet in order to realize the mutual shared values and principles that can be applied in all spheres of life, a certain prevailing bias and prejudice against Islam or Muslims, no doubt to a large extent rooted in history needs to be overcome.
