Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue

Citizenship <strong>and</strong> Inte
4Citizenship <strong>and</strong> Integration
Over <strong>the</strong> past several years, citizenship Asia. Some have made great economic strides
<strong>and</strong> integration issues have become <strong>and</strong> enjoy social <strong>and</strong> political rights, while many
more prominent in Europe, North o<strong>the</strong>rs remain mired in poverty on <strong>the</strong> margins
America, <strong>the</strong> Middle East, Africa <strong>and</strong> Asia. of European society. The growth of <strong>the</strong> Muslim
Controversies about democracy <strong>and</strong> minority minority in <strong>and</strong> of itself does not explain <strong>the</strong>
<strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>: <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on <strong>the</strong> State of Dialogue
42
Citizenship <strong>and</strong> Integration
rights are increasingly common in multicultural
societies. Here, in <strong>the</strong> domestic national
context, <strong>the</strong> terms “<strong>West</strong>” <strong>and</strong> “<strong>Islam</strong>” must
be applied most carefully.
<strong>West</strong>ern countries encompass secular
institutions, Christian majorities (many with a
secular outlook), <strong>and</strong> citizens of many o<strong>the</strong>r
faith traditions, including Judaism <strong>and</strong> <strong>Islam</strong>.
In both <strong>West</strong>ern <strong>and</strong> Muslim majority countries,
<strong>Islam</strong> is a cultural as well as a religious identity.
It can be a force in civil society, an element of
national identity or, as in Iran <strong>and</strong> Saudi Arabia,
afoundationforpoliticalinstitutions.Muslim
majority societies are home to non-Muslim
minorities who may or may not identify with
<strong>West</strong>ern countries. These overlapping meanings
of <strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Islam</strong> create a complex picture.
The European Scene
It would be a mistake to downplay <strong>the</strong> concept
of Muslim-<strong>West</strong> dialogue in light of this complexity.
It matters in national contexts because in
<strong>West</strong>ern countries in particular, <strong>Islam</strong> is an
important emerging political issue. This is most
clear in Europe where <strong>the</strong> continent’s Muslim
population has been growing steadily. For
example, in Germany <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> UK Muslims
comprise about 3% of <strong>the</strong> population. In France
<strong>the</strong> figure is about 9%.
Europe’s Muslims are a diverse group, comprised
mainly of <strong>the</strong> children <strong>and</strong> gr<strong>and</strong>children of
immigrants from Turkey, North Africa <strong>and</strong> South
rise of <strong>Islam</strong>-related issues on <strong>the</strong> political
agenda. This is due more to popular anxieties
about <strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> perceived threat it poses
to national identity <strong>and</strong> security.
The bombings in Madrid in 2004 <strong>and</strong> London
in 2005 heightened fears of <strong>Islam</strong>ic extremists,
while <strong>the</strong> headscarf controversy in France in
2004-2005 <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> cartoon controversy of
2005-2006, pointed to cultural differences.
The vast majority of European Muslims reject
violence against civilians <strong>and</strong> are more concerned
with economic opportunities <strong>and</strong> social services
than with religious symbolism. Never<strong>the</strong>less,
Muslim minorities in <strong>West</strong> Europe have often
emerged as an “o<strong>the</strong>r” in anti-immigrant
domestic politics.
Public opinion trends bear this out. In May 2006,
aMotivaction/GPDPollfoundthat63%of
Dutch citizens viewed <strong>Islam</strong> as incompatible
with modern European life. A Transatlantic Trends
<strong>Report</strong> that same year, posing <strong>the</strong> question of
<strong>Islam</strong>’s compatibility with democracy, found
comparable negative results in Germany (67%),
Italy (62%) <strong>and</strong> Spain (62%). When <strong>the</strong> Gallup
Organization asked residents of Germany, <strong>the</strong>
United Kingdom <strong>and</strong> France in 2006-2007
whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y consider Muslims living in <strong>the</strong>ir
countries to be loyal to <strong>the</strong> country, only between
35% <strong>and</strong> 45% responded affirmatively.
These anxieties about Muslims’ commitments
to democracy <strong>and</strong> national identity contrast with