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

Box 4.1
<strong>Islam</strong> in Europe : Ideals <strong>and</strong> Realities
Mustafa Ceric
Mustafa Ceric has served as Gr<strong>and</strong> Mufti of Bosnia-Herzogovina since 1999. In 2007 he received <strong>the</strong> 2007
Theodor Heuss Foundation award for his contribution to spreading <strong>and</strong> streng<strong>the</strong>ning democracy.
The history of <strong>Islam</strong> in Europe is full of useful insights for dialogue today, especially about memory <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ings
of identity. We may believe that we have freedom today to create our identities, but more often <strong>the</strong>y are created by o<strong>the</strong>rs
<strong>and</strong> profoundly shaped by our past.
Yet, humans fall into two categories : those whose identities <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> memories on which <strong>the</strong>y are founded are locked
in <strong>the</strong> past <strong>and</strong> those whose memory draws from history but looks to <strong>the</strong> future. Europe’s debates about its religious
identities <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> memories on which it is founded are a case in point. We would do well to recall <strong>the</strong> facts of history
to build our future.
Like <strong>the</strong> sun, all <strong>the</strong> revealed religions originated in <strong>the</strong> East. The great prophets <strong>and</strong> messengers all came from <strong>the</strong>
East, <strong>and</strong> none from Europe. The three Abrahamic faiths all came to Europe at times <strong>and</strong> by paths that we can pinpoint.
All are equal in belonging to Europe. Europe must underst<strong>and</strong> that we are here as indigenous Muslims. We are not
<strong>the</strong> ghosts. We are <strong>the</strong> hosts of Europe.
<strong>Islam</strong> arrived in Europe by two main gates: <strong>the</strong> gate of <strong>the</strong> Iberian Peninsula in <strong>the</strong> 8th century <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> gate of <strong>the</strong> Balkan
Peninsula in <strong>the</strong> 14th century. Eight centuries of <strong>Islam</strong>ic presence in Andalusia, Spain produced a unique tradition of
religious <strong>and</strong> cultural tolerance as well as academic freedom, which helped propel Europe on its way to humanism <strong>and</strong>
renaissance. This ideal of <strong>the</strong> Andalusian tolerance, sadly, did not survive <strong>the</strong> European history. Why <strong>Islam</strong> did not survive
in Andalusia, but did in Bosnia is a legitimate question to ask.
One result of <strong>the</strong> withdrawal of <strong>Islam</strong> from <strong>the</strong> Iberian Peninsula was <strong>the</strong> forced migration of 70,000 Jews to <strong>the</strong> Balkans,
especially to Sarajevo. Before World War II <strong>the</strong>re were 11,000 Jews in Sarajevo, today <strong>the</strong>re are fewer than 1,000.
They are <strong>the</strong> Sefars, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir manuscripts (<strong>the</strong> Sarajevo Haggada) are carefully preserved in a museum in Sarajevo;
aMuslimfamilytwicesaved<strong>the</strong>m.In2012,aconferenceinSarajevowillcelebrate<strong>the</strong>SephardicJewishhistory<strong>and</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir salvation by <strong>the</strong> Ottomans.
<strong>Islam</strong> has been indigenous to Europe for five centuries, with deeply engrained traditions <strong>and</strong> five centuries of memories.
In June 2007 Bosnia celebrated 600 years of <strong>Islam</strong>ic tradition in <strong>the</strong> Balkans.
There are three kinds of people: those who remember, those who think <strong>and</strong> those who dream. Most people remember
<strong>the</strong> past, fewer people think, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> least numbers of people dream or create new values of life. We need more people
who dream that our future will be better than our past.
<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 Citizenship <strong>and</strong> Integration
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