European of the year!

I did not expect to receive the European of the year award (in the category of non European personalities) for two reasons. First, because the other nominees for the category were prestigious people such as Mahmoud Abbas, Kofi Annan, Bill Gates, Alan Greenspan and Orhan Pamukbut.  But mostly because of the controversies and pure calumnies surrounding some of my work as well as my engagement in the last few years, particularly in France (in the United States, I primarily encounter problems with the neo-conservatives within the Bush administration)…

The magazine European Voice committee ignored unsubstantiated rumors.  Instead, it committed itself to my writings, actions and facts. They decided on giving me this award, it is said, to acknowledge my work and my dedication to the question of Islam in Europe as well as to the question of  European identity and citizenship.  Following my initial expression of gratitude to this pleasant surprise, I would simply like to say again how much my engagement is and remains essential to a peaceful and respectful way of life for the building of a common future. 

On the evening of the awards, Tuesday November 28, 2006, I was reminded of  how important it is to recognize that Islam is a European religion, that we have common values and that the future relies on our taking heed of our shared responsibilities.  We must leave our respective intellectual, religious and social ghettos; to establish confidence at the local level, to work on education, to open spaces of critical debates while avoiding useless provocations and oversensitivities that contribute to deafness and polarization. 

After the caricature crisis, the debates around freedom of expression, the declarations of the Pope – during a time where he is in Istanbul – it is urgent to take a critical stance and to bring forward the terms of a deep and intelligent debate.

Europe has a crucial role to play in this key period of our history, on its own soil as much as at the international level. We have the means of avoiding “conflicts of perceptions” and the construction of exclusive, reactive and closed identities.  We have the ultimate responsibility of keeping things direct and not misdiagnosing. 

 The new visibility of Muslims, the reality of continual immigration and of terrorism has resulted in fear and so in the end, there is a lot of confusion.  Everything appears to be pointing to  a defective “integration” and to a “conflict of civilizations and religions.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We have to revisit our school curriculums to make them more inclusive and to establish a “common history”.  We have to work on what it means to belong by encouraging partnerships at the grassroots level.  We must especially recognize that religious and cultural integration is already a reality for millions of Europeans and that it is still necessary to concentrate on the real challenges: social integration, the fight against racism, work and housing related discrimination. It is vital to stop islamizing the issues, to immobilize stereotyping and to ask politicians to reconcile themselves with their own policies.

We need, Europe needs, courageous politicians who will act against existing fears and work for the long term. We need to acknowledge the plurality or the assumed plurality of the European identity and society.  We need to recognize the urgency in circumscribing the real social problems rather than hiding behind the fears of citizens whose need for safety and simplistic populist explanations.  What we truly need are explanations on the root causes of social and identity crises’.

For over twenty years, I have been working on this question with many intellectuals,  women and men on the ground.  This discourse is being heard increasingly and this approach is being shared by many.  The very positive reception to the “Manifesto for a new We” demonstrates this.

This award is another sign to the necessity to continue relentlessly away from controversies by  keeping a frame of mind which enables self-respect and the respect of others, listening and dialogue, engagement and patience.

The path is going to be long but this award is a sign that something was heard and achieved.  It also means that what we are facing today is crucial and we must persist, although  nothing will come effortlessly.  Optimism cannot be synonymous with naivety.