A charter or an appeal?

On Wednesday, January 10, the “Muslims of Europe Charter” was signed in the seat of the European Parliament in Brussels by the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, which submitted the document. It is the fruit of a long endeavor begun in the year 2000. It “is addressed to all organizations which intend to adopt it”. The 6-page charter lists the “general principles” of Islam in view of facilitating its knowledge and as a “basis for the integration of Muslims” into European society. The respect of Islam on the part of all human beings is reaffirmed along with equality between men and women, family founded on marriage, rejection of violence and terrorism. Mario Mauro, vice-president of the EU Parliament, in his introductory note described the document as “an important boost to intercultural and interreligious dialogue to the light of Muslims’ obligation to hold respect for non-Muslim faithful”. We asked Father Hans Vöcking , who directs the chapter “Islam in Europe” within the Ccee (the Council of European Bishops Conferences) to comment on the document.How do you view this initiative?“The Moslems represented by FIOE took a joint stand to reflect upon the future of Muslims in Europe. This is a positive sign since I consider this reflection as a necessary step for Muslims’ integration into multi-religious societies. It’s also a sign that European society has become a multi-religious society. I think it’s a positive sign especially because for the first time a Muslim organization at European level reflects on the future of Islam in Europe”. How do you find the document?As relates to content, I must admit that generous terms are employed but they are not accurate. The overall impression is of a moralistic appeal, which requires the recognition of Muslims as a religious community. It’s an appeal to Muslims so they jointly make an effort for their own integration in European society by granting recognition to existing legal, democratic and pluralist systems. It equally solicits the political leaders of European Countries to recognize Muslims as members of a religious community”. What is lacking accuracy?“For example, article 3 of the section on Islam describes the 6 pillars of the Islamic faith and then it refers to the shari’ah, but all it says is that the shari’ah is “the expression of acts of worship mediated by man”. There is no clear explanation about the way in which they perceive the shari’ah. Should it be understood as it was conceived and practiced throughout the centuries or is a reformulated and reviewed form of shari’ah? It’s a serious issue, which needs to be clarified. The document also speaks about women, but also in this case it appears to be an undefined kind of appeal. We would also like to know the meaning they ascribe to terms such as ‘jihad’: is it the individual effort to fulfill the will of God and spread justice amongst peoples, or is it intended as ‘aggression’?”. What do you think will be the impact of the charter on local communities?“I think that this charter is a first step which shows that this organization has undertaken a reflection on the future of Muslims in Europe. However it doesn’t go into details. It also appears that it was intended for a non-Muslim, European audience and not for Muslims to acknowledge their requests and their presence in Europe. I refer to the paragraph on citizenship, to article 21, which mentions the political Institutions. I believe this is a first step, since Muslims are just beginning to understand that their presence in Europe entails a series of problems, which affect them too and they realize they need to find a way to communicate with European population in order to build a common future. But this kind of document leaves little space for requests. More than a charter of principles, it seems to be an appeal. However, there are details, which need to be defined. The question is: are we dealing with the recovery of an ancient tradition, or is this the sign of Muslims’ efforts to update these principles?”.