CC BY
7
2019.04.008. GYULNARA GADZHIMURADOVA. EUROPEAN MUSLIMS AND MUSLIMS IN EUROPE: SIDE BY SIDE OR TOGETHER? // "Vlast," Moscow, 2018, P. 60-63.
Keywords: Islamic liberalism, European Muslims, integration, self-segregation, EURO-ISLAM.
Gyulnara Gadzhimuradova,
PhD(Philosophy), Associate Professor, Department of Demographic and Migration Policy, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RF
In this article the author studies the concepts "European Muslims" and "Muslims in Europe." The author notes that presence of Islam in Europe though it isn't a new social phenomenon, but requires understanding as it is an integral part of Europe, and Muslims are a significant part of European society. According to approximate forecasts of the western sociologists, every tenth inhabitant of Europe will be Muslim by 2030, and by 2100 - every fourth one.
Migration activity caused by events of the Arab spring, and then refugee crisis of 2014-2015 strengthened migration processes around the world, and especially on the European continent. In the first half of the XX century migration had midland character and was carried out generally within the Christian world, modern migration has evident interfaith character. Reconcilability of Islam with standards and living of Europeans throw the issue into sharp relief. As a result of increase in the number of Muslim communities in countries of Western Europe and their sociopolitical activity according to some researchers it is possible to speak about revival of Islamic tradition in modern Europe and also about inability and unwillingness of a certain part of Muslims to be integrated in the country of domicile. As an example, the author mentions works of S. Huntington, G. Haynson, T. Saratsin [Huntington 2003; Heinsohn 2003; Sarrazin 2012].
People of different cultures and different faiths have to live nearby and interact actively and therefore in Europe a question of compatibility of Islam with democratic standards and acceptance of European values by Muslims arose. The author gives an opinion of the German writer and pamphleteer Ralph Giordano, 1923-2014 who criticized opinion of German politicians that Islam henceforth is the same part of Germany as Christianity and Judaism and said that it is impossible to compare existent Islam to the idealized one, corresponding to European values Islam which exists only in their dreams. Giordano considered that "political and militant Islam can't be integrated anywhere" that still nobody has given an answer to the question of compatibility of Islam with freedom of worship, equality of women, pluralism and the principle of separation of religion and church from the state - everything that forms the basis of democracy.
The author gives an interesting viewpoint of the German politician Tilo Saratsin who insists that migration from countries with Christian culture isn't as destructive for Germany as migration from Muslim ones. Migrants from the non-Muslim countries quickly adapt and don't form closed communities. Muslims become isolated in their Ummah and keep up only their traditions that causes tension in those countries where they come. According to the politician, it is all about religion, which defines life of Muslims from birth and to death. According to the politician the problem of Muslims is a lack of progress in education, underperformance of the majority of Muslims in labor market, it is a problem of woman status in these cultures, a problem of high birth rate.
At the heart of life attitudes of Muslims is the Dar-al-Islam, or the territory where laws of Sharia work, and according to many researchers, it's a stumbling block for their successful integration. Europe and Islamic world refer to absolutely different cultural areas which represent two entirely different, but equal systems of values.
The author gives an opinion concerning migration of the professor of the university of Bremen (Germany) G. Haynzon who
points that immigration problems of Europe have duplicitous nature: on the one hand, the most energetic and talented people move away, and birth rate is very low among those who stayed, on the other hand, immigrants from countries with low standard of living have no sufficient education to occupy vacant positions, and their rates of reproduction are rather high. The author gives statistics that 150 000 people annually leave Germany, and the majority of them go to the Anglo-Saxon countries which accept them with pleasure. And as a result there is absolutely unequal replacement of local population with migrants who have under education, don't know language, are poorly integrated and often aren't going to work at all, preferring to live on welfare.
The author wonders whether all this means that Muslim migrants don't have future in Europe, and Europe has prospects in view of Muslim communities' growth? As the answer the author cites and analyzes such concepts as Islamic liberalism and European Muslims which demonstrate successful experience of integration of a part of Muslims into European society.
Whether so there is a difference between European Muslims who consider themselves a part of the European family, and Muslims in Europe? An attempt to answer this question was made by professor of the Friburgsky university (Switzerland) Tarik Ramadan in his book "What Means to Be a European Muslim" who is an opponent of division of the world into western and Muslim, surrounding them within Ummah and speaks about rapprochement of Islam followers living in Europe with European culture. Calling themselves Muslims living in Europe, people beforehand reject social realm as extraneous, but, calling themselves Liberal Muslims, on the contrary, emphasize that at the same time they belong both to Islamic and to the western civilization. According to Ramadan, it is necessary to distinguish principles of Islam and its traditions which can be different considering history and culture of people and also laws of the country of domicile. Islam is common, but there is a variety of cultures. In Islam there is a place for both unification and diversity.
When we speak about European, Canadian, American, western Islam, "Europeanness," "westernization" refer to culture while principles stated in the Koran remain Islamic.
Muslims who decided to live in Europe have to "be Europeanized," without losing at the same time their identity. But it is possible only granting adoption of the concept of fundamental principles of European values that is unlikely at increasing self-segregation of Muslim communities.
What is Liberal Islam, and who are Liberal Muslims? According to the author of the article Liberal Islam is a form of moderate or unlighted Islam in which ritual (religious practice) part is combined with cultural attitudes of European society. It is clear, that formation of a single concept of Liberal Islam is a process demanding a long time and theoretical underpinning.
In conclusion the author of the article comes to the point that now we stand at the origins of emergence of a new form of Islam, but there is an open issue whether Liberal Islam can become a link between Muslims living in Europe and Liberal Muslims.
Author of the abstract - Valentina Schensnovich
