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

<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
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Citizenship <strong>and</strong> Integration
Municipalities have also been engaged in efforts
to promote Muslim-<strong>West</strong> dialogue. Events in
<strong>the</strong> UK city of Bradford are a case in point.
In a community that had witnessed two major
riots sparked by disaffected Pakistani Muslims
in 2001, <strong>the</strong> Bishop of Bradford set out to build
bridges between <strong>the</strong> city’s Muslim <strong>and</strong> non-
Muslim communities, which were leading largely
parallel lives. With support from a host of
international organizations, Bradford piloted
<strong>the</strong> Intercultural Communication <strong>and</strong>
Leadership School (ICLS) that works to impart
basic knowledge about different religious
traditions to young professionals who might
serve as role models for youth. Eight seminars
have followed <strong>the</strong> first one held in April 2002,
<strong>and</strong> more than 100 young professionals from
Christian, Muslim, secular <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r cultural
<strong>and</strong> religious backgrounds have participated.
Some credit <strong>the</strong> ICLS network in Bradford with
helping to maintain calm in <strong>the</strong> community in
<strong>the</strong> wake of <strong>the</strong> July 2005 London bombings.
The European Union has supported a continuing
effort to extend <strong>the</strong> ICLS model to o<strong>the</strong>r
European cities, including Lyon, Berlin, Rome
<strong>and</strong> Rotterdam.
Mixed reactions have greeted <strong>the</strong>se <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r
efforts to promote Muslim-<strong>West</strong> dialogue in
Europe. European Muslims have generally
welcomed greater recognition as citizens with a
stake in society, but often decried <strong>the</strong> tendency
for dialogue to focus on <strong>Islam</strong> to <strong>the</strong> exclusion
of broader economic <strong>and</strong> social agendas. Tariq
Ramadan <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs raised have questions
about pitfalls in <strong>the</strong> explicit focus on <strong>Islam</strong> as
an identity marker <strong>and</strong> cautioned against
“<strong>Islam</strong>izing” o<strong>the</strong>r issues. “We have social
problems, we have economic problems, <strong>and</strong>
we have urban problems,” he wrote in June
2007. “They have nothing to do with religion.
They have to do with social policies.”
O<strong>the</strong>r Muslim leaders in Europe have echoed
this perspective. At a conference of European
<strong>and</strong> American officials discussing <strong>the</strong> integration
issue, Dr. Lale Akgün, a member of <strong>the</strong> German
Bundestag, emphasized <strong>the</strong> importance of equality
<strong>and</strong> opportunity over narrowly religious issues.
“Youngsters in France do not want to live in an
<strong>Islam</strong>ic society with <strong>the</strong> Sharia,” she contended,
referring to <strong>the</strong> urban riots that shook <strong>the</strong> French
suburbs in late 2005. “They don’t want <strong>the</strong>ir sisters
to all wear head scarves – <strong>the</strong>y want to have a
real chance to belong to <strong>the</strong> French society, to
find jobs <strong>and</strong> houses <strong>and</strong> to start a family.”
The Cartoon Controversy
Tension between Muslim minorities <strong>and</strong> wider
European society have complex economic <strong>and</strong>
social roots <strong>and</strong> are compounded by racism, but
<strong>the</strong>y also have a religious <strong>and</strong> symbolic dimension.
This was evident during <strong>the</strong> cartoon controversy
of 2005-2006 <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> headscarf controversy in
France that happened earlier. The publication of
cartoons linking Prophet Muhammad with terrorism
in September 2005 in <strong>the</strong> Danish newspaper
Jyll<strong>and</strong>s-Posten, <strong>and</strong><strong>the</strong>subsequentrepublication
of <strong>the</strong> cartoons across Europe, revealed deep
cultural divides overlaid by issues of economic
<strong>and</strong> social exclusion.
In essence, Muslim reverence for Prophet
Muhammad clashed with norms of free speech.
While <strong>West</strong>ern leaders in Europe – as well as North
America, Australia <strong>and</strong> New Zeal<strong>and</strong> – criticized
<strong>the</strong> decision to publish deliberately offensive
cartoons, none were prepared to restrict freedom
of expression. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, at <strong>the</strong> heart of <strong>the</strong> storm, spoke for
many in February 2006 with his claim that “freedom
of expression <strong>and</strong> freedom of <strong>the</strong> press are <strong>the</strong>
very cornerstones of any democratic society.”
He also insisted “freedom of expression should
always be combined with freedom of religion
<strong>and</strong> respect between religions <strong>and</strong> cultures.”