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7/28/2019 The Islamophobia in the EU
1/2
THE ISLAMOPHOBIA IN THE EUROPEAN
UNION: SOMETHING MORE THAN A
RELIGIOUS ISSUE
Forgetting the remote episodes that confronted Christians with Muslims along history,
this work seeks to focus on the current presence of Islamic community in the EU,
analyzing the attitude adopted by European society towards these groups. In this sense,
we must observe the important evolution from the initial paternalism to the subsequent
indifference that in recent years has turned into a mutual animosity. This situation is
confirmed by several circles which consider the advancement of Islam as a threat to the
EU. Therefore, following this argument we can confirm that for a large part of the
European people, Muslim values have no place in Western secular tradition.
The growing opposition towards Islam has not been limited to a religious issue andshould be related with other cultural traditions that have provoked the reaction of the
most conservative sectors in Europe. We must highlight the progressive transformation
of the urban landscape lived by the major European cities in which the Islamic elements
have started to take part of the daily life.
If we only take the religion as reference, it would constitute a difficult task for the
analyst to identify any element that may justify this confrontation, so we must refer to
history and study the origin of this mutual rivalry. Following this historical explanation,
we have to consider the colonialism as the event that caused the first rejection of the
Islamic population towards Western culture that was regarded as responsible of the
precarious situation lived in the Arab World. As response to this tense atmosphere, inthe seventies several Islamic radical groups whose violent actions in Muslim countries
were reflected years later in Europe, began to emerge due to the marginalization and the
problems found to integrate their culture in the Western environment. The disaster
caused by the terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, produced a sudden declaim of the
European perception towards Islam, creating a monolithic vision of this religion related
to the terrorist actions performed by jihadist groups. This new awareness has developed
a general feeling in which the spread of Islam is considered as a menace for the
European freedom, increasing the distance between secular society and Muslim
population.
Consequently, although the Muslim population are still low in Europe, the demographicincrease suggests that in the coming decades it will be possible contemplate a major
presence of Islam in several parts of the EU, allowing the progressive islamization of
the European structures. This alarm addressed the lost of identity of the European
culture, is based in the strong influence that Islam maintains on its faithful. Hence we
can appreciate how the life of Muslim community is conditioned by their beliefs,
adopting a way of life far from the secular understanding adopted by the contemporary
Western society. In general, the European population has opted to leave the religious
issue as secondary role, according to the pragmatic position developed in the secular
environments. However, this spiritual interpretation assumed by Islamic community has
led them to gathering enough force to spread their religion and their culture in the
European sphere, providing a faith element that has faded in the society of Christianorigin.
7/28/2019 The Islamophobia in the EU
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There are several arguments that can explain the growing Muslims intensity of faith, as
opposed to Christians distancing toward spirituality. Among them we should emphasize
the socio-economic evolution and especially the prosperity lived by the European
countries since the sixties, while the precarious situation in the Arab countries forced
the large part of the population to emigrate. As consequence, the Muslim presence inEurope found a general negative response which drove them to seek hope for the future
in their religion. At the same time the Islamic community tried to show its identity with
this attitude, claiming their rights and their integration inside Europe. This reality is
particularly interesting among the second and third Muslim generations born in Europe
who express their Islamic identity as feature that sets them apart from the rest of society.
Thus, many of them have adopted a way of life close to the Islamic principles, reflected
in the recent years in their clothes and approach to the mosques.
The European authority's indifference to the Muslim presence in the EU led to increase
the confrontation and the emergence of radical groups in both communities. This
situation has extended the problem to other less militant circles as consequence of thepressure exerted from the different governments and the media. They started to observe
the new climate of tension as a menace for their particular interests. So, the traditional
European population have developed a general rejection that has led Muslim moderate
sectors to defend their own rights enhancing mutual animosity.
Therefore, we find several factors that have contributed in creating the phenomenon that
we know today as islamophobia. Between these elements, we must highlight the failure
of the governments in the integration policies that were delayed until nineties. As
consequence, the Muslim population remained in marginal ghettos for decades, because
their presence was considered temporary and far from the European reality. Thus, the
lack of interest showed by the authorities allowed the progressive implantation of the
most traditionalist Islamic trends that spread their anti-western discourse between the
Islamic communities. The appearance of this powerful movements resulting in the
emergence of several groups whose ideology were close to a distorted interpretation of
the sacred texts, giving rise to the radicalization influenced by the jihadist international
networks. At the same time, the foreign policy followed by most of the European States
towards Afghanistan and Iraq war as well as their position respect to the Palestinian
Causes, have contributed to fuel the confrontation. Consequently the fear has led the
relevant sector of the European people to reject everything related to Islam, while the
growing Muslim society continues to look for their own place inside EU.
Given the reality described, we can assert that we are facing a difficult problem
to solve, because while secular population considers Muslim lifestyles as a delay in the
progress, the Islamic community seeks to emphasize these differences as a way to
maintain their uniqueness, trying to consolidate their traditions in Europe progressively.