Fear of a European Islam?

If some conditions are met, Europe could be “a chance for Islam”, and Islam “a chance for Europeans”: that’s the conclusion reached by MAURICE BORRMANS , former professor of Arabic, Moslem law and the history of relations between Arabs and Christians at the Pontifical Institute of Arab-Islamic Studies in Rome, in a reflection published in the last number of “Vita e Pensiero”, the bimonthly review of culture of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. Some 33,303,000 Muslims are now living in Europe ( Encyclopedia Britannica figures). NOT A NEW PHENOMENON . “Contemporary Europe, with an ancient Christian tradition, has had to accept a multiplicity of Muslim communities in recent times”. But – says Father Borrmans – this isn’t “a new situation” since “Andalusia and Sicily long ago experienced both the glories and iniquities of cultural, if not religious, co-existence”. Citing research conducted in various countries of Western Europe, Borrmans observes that “these Muslims came to Europe in search of work” and gradually “progressed to the re-composition of families and, consequently, the reconstruction of cells of their society of origin with a high cultural and religious visibility”. In some countries of Europe these immigrant communities have now reached their third or fourth generation, and practically everywhere Muslims “have formed cultural or religious associations that build mosques, open Islamic schools and organize social centres”. This has led in turn to the “vindication of an Islamic identity” such as “the question of the Islamic veil in France, dietary requirements such as the demand for hulal meat , and cultural claims (teaching of Islamic languages and culture at school)”. A MODEL OF DIALOGUE. Often “European states have had to negotiate agreements with the federations” of Muslims settled in their territory “to facilitate their progressive integration”, points out Father Borrmans, though without ignoring “the problems that this situation generates in the specific situation of each State”, “Many of these immigrants – he remarks – were ill-prepared to understand their new host societies, because they had always been familiar with an integrated Islamic society in which there is no confusion between citizenship, culture and religion, and in which the West is ambiguously perceived as at once a model and an antagonist”; even Christianity “assumes a strong ambivalence in their eyes”. That’s why it is important, on the one hand, to ensure that “effective equality be guaranteed to all religions in the public sphere” and, on the other, that Islamic organization become “less dependent on the political, cultural and financial control of their countries of origin”. “Greater dialogue between exponents of the various religions and political and cultural leaders of European societies” would also be desirable. According to the Islamic expert, “a model of intercultural dialogue needs to be formulated” that is able to assess the identity-reinforcing demands of Muslims and distinguish in them “what is intolerable, what is tolerable, what is respectable and what is acceptable”. DOUBLE CHANCE . If we are to meet the challenges and overcome the prejudices in Islamic-Christian dialogue, it is essential, however, says Father Borrmans, for “scholars of both religions to study”, together with authoritative jurists, “the philosophical and theological reasons that lie at the basis of human rights and the legislative texts that regulate their application”. This presupposes “study in depth of the possible convergences between natural law and positive law, on the one hand, and the ends of the religious law that Muslims call shari’a on the other, to try to reconcile the philosophies of law of both sides”. “ Public opinion shapers and the representatives of the religious communities thus have a great responsibility to promote this spirit of dialogue” in the societies of Western Europe, so that “peaceful co-existence may be realized for the good of everyone”. But, says Borrmans, there are three essential conditions that need to be met: “the objective knowledge of other religions”, “the theologically positive evaluation” of other religious experiences, and education in interfaith dialogue and in sharing religious values. In the judgement of Father Borrmans, “if this ideal were to become a reality in Europe, it would exert a positive influence on the conduct of the majority or minority communities of the countries of origin of the Muslims who now live in European societies”. “And that is perhaps why – he explains – Europe is a chance for Islam”, which “must show respect in Europe for civil law and social cohesion”. But Islam, in turn, is also “a chance for Europeans, who are invited to restore to religions their positive visibility at the service of national cultures and, if they are Christians, to rediscover the genuine values of their faith, which ought to be not just a social and cultural heritage, but a vital message of happiness and salvation for everyone”.