European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

IMAGES OF EUROPE: THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ISLAMIC PEOPLE. FROM ... 257The Arab-Islamic world contemplates Europe, and laterthe West, from a permanent paradigm: seduction and rejectionFascination and rejection are indissoluble sentiments that, althoughdepending on the evolution of each geopolitical space in all of itsvariables and its multiplicity of relations, have been manifested andvisualized alternatively in the two attitudes of “Occidentophilia” and“Occidentophobia”.Nevertheless, this essentialist and ultra-conservative stance hascorresponded to that maintained by the most traditionalist sectors,although it has also been adopted by some nationalist movements.In this changing perspective in the relations between the Muslimworld and Europe, we dare to symbolize the perceptions of the Arab-Islamic world in just a handful of images.Europe as a model and challengeIt has been difficult for the Muslim world to overcome the intellectualregression that accompanied the political decline of the Arabworld, which colonization only helped to exacerbate.Europe’s economic, cultural, technical and military superiority sincethe 18 th century led the Muslim world to contemplate the reasons forits decline after its reigning glory during the Golden Age. The questionof this decline and the need to overcome this situation became thefocus of all its thoughts and concerns.The eruption of colonial powers in the Muslim world made itscultural, political and economic decline even more evident andintensified its need to undergo a renaissance which would allow it toadapt to and confront the challenge posed by Europe.The creation of different political and ideological proposals tostimulate said renaissance would take place in consonance with thechanges occurring in Europe, for the contacts with the continentallowed the Muslims to know the innovations that the Enlightenmentand the French Revolution had brought with them.Since then the Muslims have not ceased to debate the political andcultural role that should Islam should play when confronting, oradapting to, the Western challenge.Europe thus simultaneously represents a model and a challenge.Within this Muslim renaissance movement, called al-Nahda, twomain schools of thought would appear which were differentiated by theconsideration that each gave to the Islamic dimension in its societies.