During these last five years, since the attacks of September 11th, the atmosphere has completely changed in Europe. Who would have thought that the situation would change so dramatically and quickly? One can easily perceive changes within the United States. However, in Europe, the measures that have taken place in response to major upheavals have been harder to detect.
The terrorist threat (attempts of Madrid or of London) as well as the violent acts of extremists (such as the assassination of Theo Van Ghog) contribute to an atmosphere of fear and suspicion on the entire continent.
Governments consult each other, elaborate new strategies and a host of international conferences multiply with experts being called upon to provide their perspective around the question of « terrorism ». The alarms are sporadic but the danger is permanent. We are not secure anymore and the terrorists acting in the name of the Islam can hold sway at any given moment. The strictest of vigilance is required.
Even though it is necessary to treat with urgency the security questions, other basic problems are creeping up throughout Europe. Citizens and European Muslims appear to be having real issues in terms of integration which would perhaps require specific remedies.
The question of the head scarf , content of school curriculum (biology, history, etc.), forced marriages, marital violence, community ghettos without counting the manifestations of wider social problems in which « these Muslims » again are involved (marginalization, violence in the suburbs, illegal dealings in drugs, etc.) are the subject of passionate and obsessive debates. All appear to believe that the Muslim presence is problematic in itself which is greatly perturbing European societies. The tensions that followed Danish caricatures is but one explicit example.
It is important to factor in another dimension that frightens Europe: thousands of immigrants as well as clandestine ones are landing in Europe and are endangering the politically social policies of governments.
All the European countries are affected in the same way and the common denominator again within all this is that the majority are immigrants are « Muslim ». They come from West Africa, the north as well as the Balkans. Not only it is it difficult to shield oneself from these « waves of immigrants » but their religion and culture are creating the worst kind of fear for future social and cultural cohesion of European societies. Policies of an increasingly draconian nature are being put in place to regulate and impede immigration.
This picture is somber and disturbing. The politics and policies put into place following the New York attempts, of Madrid and of London are alarming because the excesses have become the norm. It is of course necessary to assure the security of citizens, but one must also be vigilant against legal decisions that allow long-term arrests without proper legal council, illegal « extraordinary extraditions » and inhumane treatment that sometimes includes the practice of torture.
European governments cannot fail to recognize the presence of the American CIA on their soil coming from their airports! The climate is unhealthy and becomes much more so when one observes the European legislations that criminalize immigrants who are looking for means of survival in Europe. They are stopped and sent back. Legislation is toughened without the slightest respect for equitable global politics with regards to the country of origin.
Men and women from West Africa, Morocco, Kosovo or Albania encounter a Europe which is selfish and that barricades itself and pretends a legitimacy of the law without much concern for justice.
It appears to be a new mentality « of the besieged » that motivates the new discourse that is heard everywhere in Europe. Whether it be in Great Britain, where one tries to define the « British » identity and where one wants to teach the « British values », to Holland or Germany where one wants to test the newcomers on « our culture and values », to France or Italy where one promotes a selective history of oneself and to a past which is exclusively « Greco-roman and Judeo-Christian;
Huddles on a fantasized identity that is exclusivist and fearful. History is reviewed and selective. Islam is as foreign to European history as it appears dangerous to its present. Europeans are facing a trust crisis in which they withdraw within their « own values », « own culture », « own identity ».
This results into differentiation and opposition to the « other », to« the threat of the Islam » that imposes a reaffirmation of oneself. A dangerous normalization of a discourse which was yesterday, that of the extreme right is apparent. Beyond this discourse, we are witnessing a politic that questions the protection of human rights, human dignity and the rights of citizens within democratic societies. A dangerous wind is crossing Europe which is nourishing a general discomfort and fostering fear.
It is appropriate to ask European citizens of Muslim confession to understand the societies in which they live, to master the national tongue, to respect the laws and to leave their social and cultural ghettos but these Muslims are faced more and more with discourses and practices which send them back to their differences and their otherness. Europe is going through a crisis and it is nourishing cleavages and as well as cultural and religious withdrawal it is claming it wants to fight.
Elected officials must demonstrate more audacity and creativity in political matters. First by sorting out the issues (presence from Islam in Europe, social problems, immigration, etc), then by refusing to make use of the populations’ fears, and foremost, by integrating their Muslim fellow-citizens in finding solutions to existing problems instead of regarding them solely as the cause of these problems.
Together, in the name of our multiple memories and by defending our common values, we can resist our mutual ignorance, fears, social exclusion and racisms. The tough security policies are illusions which reassure us in election times. We need new policies which, in the long run, make it possible for future generations to live true democratic, cultural and religious pluralism.
We need to invest in education and to encourage local initiatives which promote mutual knowledge, partnerships and trust. Safety without trust puts Europe in state of siege which is likely to lose its soul and democratic assets. It is a revolution in trust that Europe is in crucial need of today.
