I was touched by this article below and how similar it is to the situation in Greece.

Source:  The Balkan Chronicle

There are many countries in the world where Islam springs to mind when they are mentoned, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Morrocco are just a few. There are many other lands Islam reached that many from amongst the Ummah may not be aware of, such as Western China, Greece, Southern Italy, Hungary and maybe even Austria. Romania is also one such land that many may not be aware lived under Islamic rule for 800 years. Many may not even know where Romania is, it is only 275 miles from Turkey.

In Europe Romania is infamous for Transylvania – home of Count Dracula. Whilt this character has assumed a position archetypal vampire in populer Western culture; the character is based upon Prince of Wallachia. Vlad III, who came to be known as the impaler. Historically, Vlad Dracula became infamous for his resistance against the Uthmani Khilafah and for the cruel punishments he inflicted upon his enemies.

Vlad Dracula was sent in 1475 with an army of Hungarian and Serbian soldiers to recapture Bosnia from the Uthmani Khilafah. Whilst the Uthmani Khilafah lost this initial battle, the Uthmani’s entered Wallachia in 1476 under the command of Mehmed II to recapture the lost lands. During the war, Vlad was killed and, according to some sources, his head was sent to Constantinople to discourage the other rebellions.

According to most sources in Romania, Islam first emerged when the Sufi leader Sari Saltik came to the region during the Byzantine epoch. The Islamic presence in Northern Dobruja was expanded by Uthmani Khilafah who oversaw successive immigration. In Wallachia and Moldavia, the two Danubian Principalities, the era of Uthmani’s did not accompany growth in the number of Muslims, whose presence there remained small. Also the battles between the Uthmani’s and Habsburg Empire led to many Muslim to move to the Islamic heatlands.

Romania emerged in 1859 as a union of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Northern Dobruja became part of Romania following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. However during the the communist regime, Romanian Muslims were subject to a number of harsh measures, especially supervision by the state. The Ummah in Romania managed to hold on to the deen and were able after the Romanian Revolution of 1989 to begin the open dawah to Islam.

Islam in Romania is followed by only 0.3 percent of population, this equates to around 60,000 people, but has more than 800 years of tradition in Northern Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part of the Uthmani Khilafah for almost five centuries (ca. 1420-1878). In present-day Romania, most adherents to Islam belong to the Tatar and Turkish ethnic communities.

The vast majority of Romanians are Sunnis who adhere to the Hanafi madhab.

97% of Romanian Muslims are residents of the two counties forming Northern Dobruja: eighty-five percent live in Constanţa County, and twelve percent in Tulcea County.  The rest mainly inhabit urban centers such as Bucharest, Brăila, Călăraşi, Galaţi, Giurgiu, and Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

In all, Romania has as many as eighty mosques, or, according to records kept by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, seventy-seven. The city of Constanţa, with its Carol I Mosque and the location of the Muftiyat, is the center of Romanian Islam; Mangalia, near Constanţa, is the site of a monumental mosque, built in 1525. The two mosques are state-recognised historical monuments, as are the ones in Hârşova, Amzacea, Babadag and Tulcea. There are also 108 Islamic cemeteries in Romania.

After the Romanian Revolution in 1989, when Romania left the Eastern Communist camp native Romanians had the chance to discover Islam and taste its fruits. Today as many as 3,000 Muslim are converts to Islam and the number is growing day by day. Being converts they faced the particular problem in a society, in that society was not prepared to accept them. Most groups in Romania show little will to support Muslims generally. For these reasons the Ummah in Romania were forced to create an organisation capable of defending and maintaining the needs of the Ummah in Romania. The Alliance of Romanian Muslim was set up in order to protect and defend the Ummah and Islam in Romania.

When Islam came to Europe the continent was living in the dark ages. Eastern Europe was steeped in superstition, magic and sorcery. Islam came and brought a new rational belief that took the region from its misery and gave their lives purpose. Whilst in mainland Europe the challenge is to defend the deen, in Romania and many parts of Eastern Europe once again the people need liberation from capitalism and nationalism and it is here the Muslim of Romania are at the forefront carrying on the work the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم started and the Uthmani Khilafah expanded. Whilst the Ummah face the same issues globally, the Ummah from Romania stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ummah all over the world and await the day Allah sends his blessings.

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“Europe must come to terms with all sides and the wealth of history,” says Helier, which seeks to contribute to this process in his new book, which follows in the footsteps of the Muslim presence on the continent, noting that Muslim communities can only be regarded and treated-that is an integral part of European society.

Η Ευρώπη πρέπει να συμφιλιωθεί με όλες τις όψεις και τον πλούτο της Ιστορίας της, λέει ο Χέλιερ, που επιδιώκει να συνεισφέρει σε αυτή τη διαδικασία με το νέο βιβλίο του, στο οποίο παρακολουθεί τα χνάρια της μουσουλμανικής παρουσίας στην ευρωπαϊκή ήπειρο, επισημαίνοντας ότι οι μουσουλμανικές κοινότητες δεν μπορεί παρά να θεωρούν -και να θεωρούνται- ότι είναι αναπόσπαστο κομμάτι της ευρωπαϊκής κοινωνίας.

Γι’ αυτό διάλεξε τον τίτλο «Μουσουλμάνοι της Ευρώπης»; τον ρωτάω. «Ναι, έχουμε συνηθίσει να βλέπουμε τις μειοψηφίες σε σχέση με τις πλειοψηφίες μέσα σε μια κοινωνία. Εγώ ήθελα να δω μια μειοψηφία ως μέρος της πλειοψηφίας στην οποία ανήκει», εξηγεί. Συνεργάτης του Πανεπιστημίου του Γουόρικ, μέλος του Κέντρου της Οξφόρδης για τις Ισλαμικές Σπουδές στο Πανεπιστήμιο της Οξφόρδης και ειδικός σε θέματα θρησκευτικών μειονοτήτων, ο Χέλιερ υπήρξε σύμβουλος της βρετανικής κυβέρνησης πάνω σε θέματα καταπολέμησης του εξτρεμισμού και της ριζοσπαστικοποίησης, μετά το τρομοκρατικό χτύπημα του Ιουλίου του 2005 στο Λονδίνο.

«Οταν μιλάμε για μουσουλμάνους στην Ευρώπη είναι σαν να λέμε ότι βρίσκονται σε ευρωπαϊκό έδαφος, αλλά δεν είναι πραγματικά Ευρωπαίοι, απλώς έτυχε να είναι εδώ. Πολλές από τις κοινότητες που μελέτησα είχαν μεν πράγματι έρθει από κάπου αλλού, άλλες όμως βρίσκονται σε αυτήν την ήπειρο εδώ και πολλές γενιές. Μάλιστα ορισμένοι είναι απόγονοι Ευρωπαίων που έτυχε σε κάποια στιγμή της ζωής τους να ασπαστούν το Ισλάμ. Αυτές οι κοινότητες δεν απασχολούν τη δημοσιότητα, επειδή έχουν άλλη ιστορική μνήμη και διαφορετικό κοινωνικό και οικονομικό υπόβαθρο από τις πιο πρόσφατες μεταναστευτικές κοινότητες. Η μουσουλμανική παρουσία συγχέεται σε μεγάλο βαθμό με την εθνοτική και φυλετική ταυτότητα», λέει ο Χέλιερ.

Στο βιβλίο ασχολείστε και με τη μετανάστευση των τελευταίων ετών;

«Ναι, αλλά να κάνω μια παρατήρηση, ειδικά για τη χώρα μου – πολλοί από τους ανθρώπους που αποκαλούμε μετανάστες πρώτης ή δεύτερης γενιάς είναι απόγονοι υπηκόων της βρετανικής αυτοκρατορίας, οπότε είναι κάπως περίεργο να τους κατατάσσουμε στους πρόσφατους μετανάστες. Τώρα γενικώς στην Ευρώπη τα τελευταία δεκαπέντε χρόνια έχει αυξηθεί πολύ ο αριθμός των μουσουλμάνων μεταναστών. Αρκετοί, όμως, είναι εξαιρετικά ευκατάστατοι. Στην Ελβετία, για παράδειγμα, υπάρχει μια μεγάλη κοινότητα από νεοαφιχθέντες μουσουλμάνους. Κανείς δεν ανησυχεί για τη δική τους ομαλή ενσωμάτωση, γιατί η ενσωμάτωση είναι κάτι που μας απασχολεί -τουλάχιστον όπως φαίνεται στον δημόσιο διάλογο- όταν πρόκειται για τους οικονομικά ασθενείς».

Αναφέρετε πως οι μουσουλμανικές κοινότητες υπήρξαν εδώ και αιώνες μέρος της Ευρώπης και είναι υπερβολικές οι συζητήσεις περί ενσωμάτωσης. Γιατί όμως είναι επίμονες;

«Εχει ενδιαφέρον, ναι… Πρέπει να δούμε πώς υλοποιούνται οι πολιτικές ενσωμάτωσης σε κάθε ευρωπαϊκή χώρα ξεχωριστά. Στη Βρετανία βασίζονται στη φιλοσοφία μας περί διαφορετικότητας και πολυπολιτισμικότητας. Ζητήματα που αντιμετωπίζονται εντελώς διαφορετικά στη Γαλλία, τη Γερμανία και την Ελλάδα. Στη Βρετανία η συζήτηση γύρω από την ενσωμάτωση διαφορετικών κοινοτήτων, καθώς και το “μουσουλμανικό ζήτημα” προέκυψαν πολύ πρόσφατα, στη δεκαετία του ‘90. Είχε προηγηθεί μια μακρά ιστορία μετανάστευσης και πολυεθνικής συνύπαρξης που δεν αφορούσε ποτέ τη θρησκεία. Μόνο η φυλή και η εθνικότητα μετρούσαν».

Η θρησκεία πότε και γιατί έγινε μέρος της συζήτησης;

«Στην Ευρώπη -λιγότερο στη Νότια Ευρώπη- η ιδέα της εκκοσμίκευσης είναι πολύ βαθιά ριζωμένη στον τρόπο που οργανώνεται η δημόσια σφαίρα. Η θρησκευτική πίστη θεωρείται υπόθεση ιδιωτική. Είναι ενδεικτικό το γεγονός ότι ο Τόνι Μπλερ, άνθρωπος βαθιά θρησκευόμενος, όσο ήταν πρωθυπουργός δεν αναφερόταν στις θρησκευτικές πεποιθήσεις του. Οταν λοιπόν εμφανίζεται μια κοινότητα -όπως είναι η μουσουλμανική- που δεν αντιμετωπίζει την πίστη της σαν κάτι αυστηρά ιδιωτικό γιατί δεν βλέπει κανένα λόγο να το κάνει, τότε όταν τα μέλη αυτής της κοινότητας θα αρχίσουν να εκφράζουν τις ανησυχίες τους χρησιμοποιώντας τη γλώσσα της θρησκείας, αναπόφευκτα θα τραβήξουν την προσοχή. Παλιότερα θα τραβούσαν την προσοχή εξαιτίας των φυλετικών ή εθνοτικών χαρακτηριστικών τους. Καθώς άρχισε να αυξάνεται ο αριθμός τους και οι νέες γενιές άρχισαν να ιεραρχούν τη θρησκεία τους πάνω από την εθνική ταυτότητα των γονιών τους, εύκολα καταλαβαίνει κανείς πως η ιδέα του Ισλάμ και της μουσουλμανικότητας στο δημόσιο χώρο αναπόφευκτα θα τραβούσε την προσοχή».

Γιατί οι νεότερες γενιές μουσουλμάνων μεταναστών ιεράρχησαν τη θρησκεία πάνω από την εθνοτική καταγωγή τους;

«Πρόκειται για απολύτως φυσιολογικό κοινωνικό φαινόμενο. Κυρίως γιατί δεν μπορούσαν να αναγνωρίσουν τους εαυτούς τους στην εθνική ταυτότητα των γονιών τους, αφού μεγάλωναν σε άλλο τόπο. Ενώ μουσουλμάνος, όπως και χριστιανός, μπορεί κανείς να είναι οπουδήποτε. Γιατί αυτό συνέβη στους μουσουλμάνους και όχι στους Ιταλούς ή τους Ελληνες μετανάστες δεύτερης γενιάς; Γιατί οι Ιταλοί, όπως και οι Ελληνες και οι Γερμανοί είναι λευκοί. Ο,τι και να πω για τον ρόλο που παίζει το χρώμα, θα είναι λίγο».

Οι Ιρανοί και οι Τούρκοι μετανάστες δυσκολεύτηκαν λιγότερο να ενταχθούν επειδή η επιδερμίδα τους είναι ανοιχτόχρωμη;

«Πολλοί άλλαξαν τα ονόματά τους. Επειτα οι Ιρανοί μετανάστες είχαν πολύ υψηλό μορφωτικό επίπεδο και δεν ήταν καθόλου θρησκευόμενοι. Οι περισσότεροι από τους μουσουλμάνους μετανάστες προέρχονταν από την εργατική τάξη και από αγροτικές περιοχές. Και δεν μετανάστευσαν καν σε αγροτικές περιοχές της Ευρώπης. Αν μια κοινότητα από ένα χωριό του Μπανγκλαντές μετακινηθεί σε μια πόλη του Μπανγκλαντές θα υπάρξουν εντάσεις. Φανταστείτε πόσο εντονότερο είναι το πρόβλημα όταν η πόλη στην οποία μεταναστεύουν είναι ενδεχομένως σε μια χώρα που δυστυχώς, ιστορικά, δυσκολεύεται να χειριστεί τον πλουραλισμό – κάτι για το οποίο φοβάμαι ότι είναι διάσημη η ευρωπαϊκή ήπειρος. Με την έννοια ότι στην Ευρώπη συνέβη το Ολοκαύτωμα. Στην Ευρώπη είναι που έχουμε μεγάλη ιστορία διακρίσεων. Αυτό εξηγείται σ’ ένα βαθμό από το γεγονός ότι καθεμιά από τις ευρωπαϊκές εθνικές ταυτότητες είναι πολύ ομοιογενής. Δεν είναι όπως η αμερικανική, η αυστραλέζικη ή η καναδική ταυτότητα. Για να προαγάγουμε, σ’ ένα ιστορικό πλαίσιο όπως το ευρωπαϊκό, τον πλουραλισμό και την ανοχή στη διαφορετικότητα, πρέπει να φανούμε δημιουργικοί. Κάτι που συνέβη στη Βρετανία, όπου τώρα οι άνθρωποι αρχίζουν να αναφέρονται σε μια βρετανική εθνική ταυτότητα που δεν είναι φυλετικά προσδιορισμένη. Βλέπω όμως πολύ συχνά να προβάλλεται στην Ευρώπη η διαδικασία της ενσωμάτωσης μέσω κάποιων τρόπων που έχουν οι μουσουλμάνοι να εκφράζουν την ταυτότητά τους και τους οποίους ορισμένοι άνθρωποι μπορεί να θεωρούν προβληματικούς ως συμπεριφορές».

Ποιοι μπορεί να είναι αυτοί οι τρόποι;

«Για παράδειγμα, οι πολύ ευσεβείς μουσουλμάνοι -μια ελάχιστη μειοψηφία των μεταναστών- θέλουν να προσεύχονται πέντε φορές την ημέρα. Αν εργάζονται σε ένα εργοστάσιο ή μια επιχείρηση, ίσως ζητούν ένα χώρο για να εκτελούν το θρησκευτικό καθήκον τους. Αυτό μπορεί να ενοχλήσει τους συναδέλφους τους που δεν είναι θρησκευόμενοι, μπορεί ακόμη και να το θεωρούν αλλόκοτο. Ή μπορεί να το βλέπουν σαν απειλή στην τάξη και στον κοσμικό χαρακτήρα του δημόσιου χώρου, παρ’ όλο που πρόκειται για μια διαδικασία πολύ ιδιωτική».

Σ’ ένα κοσμικό κράτος, μια που το θέμα είναι επίκαιρο, τα θρησκευτικά σύμβολα έχουν θέση στο σχολείο;

«Οπως η μαντίλα, που έχει εξελιχθεί σε τεράστιο ζήτημα; Πιστεύω ότι τίποτε δεν ενοχλεί το κοσμικό καθεστώς περισσότερο από τη μαντίλα. Σε ορισμένες χώρες τη βλέπουν σχεδόν σαν απειλή προς την κοσμική βάση του κράτους. Κανείς δεν αμφισβητεί τον κοσμικό χαρακτήρα των ευρωπαϊκών κρατών. Αλλά τι είδους κοσμικό κράτος θέλουμε; Εννοώ ότι μπορεί να μη συμφωνώ με τις γυναίκες που φορούν μαντίλα, αλλά γιατί να τους επιβάλω μια προσωπική γνώμη; Χαίρομαι πολύ που στη Βρετανία δεν πήραμε κανένα ανάλογο μέτρο απαγόρευσης. Οι Γάλλοι έχουν εντελώς διαφορετική αντίληψη, γιατί το σχολείο συνιστά το εργαστήριο για τη δημιουργία αυτού του μυθικού Γάλλου πολίτη. Και σε ένα τέτοιο εργαστήριο δεν χωρούν θρησκευτικά σύμβολα. Νομίζω ότι πρόκειται για τεράστιο σφάλμα που έχει αποτέλεσμα να απαιτείται τελικά πολύ περισσότερος χρόνος για την ενσωμάτωση, διότι στενεύει τα περιθώρια των μουσουλμάνων να εκτελούν τα θρησκευτικά τους καθήκοντα».

Λέγεται ότι έχει αυξηθεί ο αριθμός των μεταναστριών δεύτερης γενιάς που φορούν μαντίλα. Η έρευνά σας το επιβεβαιώνει;

«Πολύ συχνά, τα νεαρά κορίτσια που φορούν μαντίλα καλύπτονται ενάντια στη θέληση των γονιών τους, που ενοχλούνται γιατί οι ίδιοι ως νέοι την είχαν απορρίψει. Αλλά οι νεότερες γενιές έχουν κάνει την έρευνά τους, έχουν μελετήσει και κάποιες κοπέλες πιστεύουν ότι είναι κομμάτι της πνευματικής ζωής τους. Αλλά, και πάλι, είναι πολύ μικρός ο αριθμός των μεταναστών δεύτερης γενιάς που είναι πιο θρησκευόμενοι από τους γονείς τους. Οι περισσότεροι είναι λιγότερο θρησκευόμενοι γιατί και οι κοινωνίες στις οποίες ζουν είναι λιγότερο θρησκευόμενες. Ωστόσο δεν βλέπω να υπάρχει διαφορά ανάμεσα σ’ έναν ομαλά ενσωματωμένο Ευρωπαίο πολίτη και έναν λιγότερο ομαλά ενσωματωμένο πολίτη, στη βάση της άσκησης των θρησκευτικών καθηκόντων. Δεν νομίζω ότι αν η δεύτερη ή η τρίτη γενιά γίνει πιο πιστή, θα υπάρξει ξαφνικά πρόβλημα ενσωμάτωσης».

Ωστόσο η πραγματικότητα είναι ότι αυτό το φαινόμενο σε κάποιες μερίδες της ευρωπαϊκής κοινωνίας προκαλεί ανησυχία.

«Για τρεις λόγους: Πρώτον, αυτές οι κοινότητες προέρχονται συνήθως από διαφορετικές φυλετικές ομάδες, δείχνουν διαφορετικοί. Οταν κάποιος δείχνει διαφορετικός, καθετί που κάνει ή λέει μπαίνει κάτω από το μικροσκόπιο. Δεύτερον η Ευρώπη μοιράζεται μια μακριά, κοινή ιστορία με το Ισλάμ. Οι Γάλλοι, για παράδειγμα, έχουν ένα πολύ δυσάρεστο παρελθόν με το Μαρόκο και την Αλγερία. Οι Βρετανοί είχαν μια τεράστια αυτοκρατορία και πολλές από τις εξεγέρσεις εναντίον της αυτοκρατορίας εμπνέονταν από το Ισλάμ. Μοιραζόμαστε λοιπόν μια ιστορία συνύπαρξης, αλλά και σύγκρουσης. Ο τρίτος λόγος έχει να κάνει με το ότι η Ευρώπη, σήμερα, είναι πολύ εκκοσμικευμένη. Ετσι οτιδήποτε μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ότι αποκλίνει έστω και ελάχιστα από αυτό το μοντέλο, μπορεί να προκαλέσει ενόχληση ή ανησυχία. Νομίζω ότι πρέπει να υπάρξει μεγαλύτερη κατανόηση εκατέρωθεν. Από τη μια οι πολύ θρησκευόμενοι μουσουλμάνοι -που είναι ελάχιστοι- οφείλουν να εξηγήσουν στην ευρύτερη κοινωνία ότι το γεγονός πως είναι πιστοί δεν σημαίνει πως θέλουν να ανατρέψουν το καθεστώς. Και από την άλλη, νομίζω ότι εξαρτάται από την ίδια την κοινωνία στο σύνολό της να πάψει να ανησυχεί, γιατί δεν υφίσταται κανένας λόγος ανησυχίας».

Info:

i Η.Α.Hellyer, «Muslims of Europe: The “Other Europeans”», Edinburgh Press

Λόγος και ευαισθησία
ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΚΑΤΕΡΙΝΑ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΑΚΟΥ katoiko@enet.gr Τις δύο τελευταίες δεκαετίες, ξεκινώντας από την υπόθεση του Σάλμαν Ρούσντι και με αποκορύφωμα τα δανέζικα σκίτσα, έχουν εκφραστεί ανησυχίες γύρω από το κατά πόσον ο σεβασμός σε θρησκευτικές ευαισθησίες μπορεί να αγγίζει τα όρια της λογοκρισίας.
«Οι μουσουλμάνοι είναι, αναλογικά μιλώντας, περισσότερο θρησκευόμενοι από τους υπόλοιπους Ευρωπαίους. Σήμερα – δεν θα κάναμε αυτή τη συζήτηση πριν από εκατό, ούτε καν πριν από πενήντα χρόνια. Επίσης σε διάφορες χώρες υπάρχουν νόμοι που απαγορεύουν τη δυσφήμηση των θρησκειών. Γενικώς στην Ευρώπη δεν υπάρχει αυτό που λέμε απόλυτη ελευθερία λόγου και έκφρασης, αυτή η έννοια δεν υφίσταται. Στους πολιτικούς και τους δημοσιογράφους αρέσει να λένε ότι στην Ευρώπη έχουμε ελευθερία της έκφρασης και ότι είναι κάτι που περιφρουρούμε και θέλουμε να διατηρήσουμε γιατί είναι η βάση του πολιτισμού μας. Αλλά δεν είναι έτσι, γιατί έχουμε ένα σωρό περιορισμούς- για παράδειγμα, στη Γερμανία δεν μπορεί να πει κανείς οτιδήποτε για το Ολοκαύτωμα, και υπάρχει πολύ σοβαρός λόγος γι’ αυτό, δεν διαφωνώ καθόλου με αυτό τον περιορισμό. Σε άλλες χώρες δεν μπορεί να μιλήσει κανείς άσχημα για τη βασιλική οικογένεια· έπειτα υπάρχουν τα κρατικά μυστικά».

Τα κρατικά μυστικά δεν παραμένουν μυστικά, από φόβο μήπως αισθανθεί κάποιος προσβεβλημένος. Αλλά κι αυτά, αν τύχει και πάψουν να είναι μυστικά, συζητιούνται ανοιχτά.

«Ηθελα να επισημάνω ότι απόλυτη ελευθερία λόγου δεν υπάρχει ούτως ή άλλως. Επειτα, όπως πολλοί πιστεύουν ότι το Ολοκαύτωμα ή η βασιλική οικογένεια δεν εμπίπτουν στις προβλέψεις περί ελευθερίας του λόγου, έτσι και οι μουσουλμάνοι έχουν τις δικές τους ευαισθησίες που προφανώς αφορούν κυρίως τη θρησκεία τους. Εδώ υπάρχει κάτι που προσωπικά δεν κατανοώ πολύ καλά, αλλά στην πορεία έμαθα να σέβομαι -βλέπουν τη θρησκεία τους με τον ίδιο πάνω-κάτω τρόπο που εγώ ή εσείς βλέπουμε την οικογένειά μας. Τέλος, υπάρχουν νόμοι περί δυσφήμησης -δεν μπορώ να τριγυρνάω αποκαλώντας έναν άνθρωπο κλέφτη, γιατί μπορεί να μου κάνει μήνυση».

Υπάρχει τεράστια διαφορά ανάμεσα στη δυσφήμηση ενός προσώπου και την κριτική σε ιδέες και δόγματα.

«Εσείς κι εγώ μπορεί να το πιστεύουμε αυτό, αλλά πρέπει να καταλάβετε ότι για τους πολύ θρησκευόμενους το πρόσωπο του Προφήτη δεν είναι κάτι απόμακρο. Μάλιστα μια από τις δοκιμασίες για τους πολύ πιστούς μουσουλμάνους είναι αν τον αγαπούν περισσότερο από την ίδια τους την οικογένεια. Οφείλουμε να προσεγγίζουμε το θέμα με σύνεση. Η ιδέα των κοσμικών κρατών στην Ευρώπη του 21ου αιώνα είναι κάτι που μας βρίσκει όλους σύμφωνους. Την ίδια στιγμή, η ιδέα του σεβασμού προς την έννοια του ιερού, στη δημόσια σφαίρα, είναι θέμα ανοιχτό προς συζήτηση, αξίζει να γίνει αντικείμενο πολιτισμένου διαλόγου, χωρίς φόβο ή ταπεινώσεις».

«Τα κίνητρα των τρομοκρατών δεν είναι θρησκευτικά»

«Τα προβλήματα υπάρχουν γιατί άνθρωποι σαν τους τύπους της Αλ Κάιντα μιλούν για τους εαυτούς τους και τη δράση τους με θρησκευτικούς όρους. Σε μια κοινότητα και μια κοινωνία που γνωρίζει ελάχιστα πράγματα για το Ισλάμ και το μόνο που βλέπει είναι κάτι τύποι με γενειάδες που γυρνάνε από δω κι από κει λέγοντας “είμαι μουσουλμάνος, θα σας ανατινάξω”… ε, δεν εκπλήσσομαι που μπορεί να ανησυχούν όταν βλέπουν έναν άνδρα με τέτοια εμφάνιση. Βέβαια, σε μια κοινωνία με τόσο υψηλό μορφωτικό επίπεδο όπως είναι η Ευρώπη, θα περίμενα από τους συμπατριώτες μας να χρησιμοποιούν πιο σοβαρά κριτήρια όταν βγάζουν συμπεράσματα από την εμφάνιση των ανθρώπων. Οσο για τους τρομοκράτες του Ιουλίου του 2005, δεν είχαν προβλήματα ενσωμάτωσης, δεν κατοικούσαν σε γκέτο μεταναστών, δεν προέρχονταν από θρησκευόμενες οικογένειες. Οι περισσότεροι άργησαν πολύ να δείξουν ενδιαφέρον για το Ισλάμ. Κατά πάσα πιθανότητα, ήρθαν σε επαφή με το Ισλάμ μέσω βαθιά ριζοσπαστικοποιημένων στοιχείων που έρχονταν από χώρες εκτός Βρετανίας. Τα κίνητρά τους δεν ήταν θρησκευτικά, ήταν πολιτικά – για εμάς είναι εξαιρετικά δύσκολο να τα ξεχωρίσουμε, γιατί χρησιμοποιούν θρησκευτικό λεξιλόγιο».

——

photo credit: Diego Cupolo

by Pericles Korovesis, PM SYRIZA to the Greek Parliament.

Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά

Is Europe in danger of becoming Islamized? How can Turkey, a non-Christian country that never has had Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, integrate into Europe without distorting its characteristics? Should all Muslims be expelled from Europe in order to find the lost identity?

These are some questions and more similar others that the Right and extreme Right Wing of Europe and the USA are asked to answer. Several books have been written and the Yellow Press officiates of racist campaigns of any kind incriminate immigrants that have Islamic religion.

Racism and nationalism, in order to make its arguments seem truthful, must distort reality. So the fact is concealed that in Europe, out of 493 million residents, only 3-4% are Muslims. And still they do not bring the question of who brought them. After World War II, Europe needed cheap workers. Where could they find them? The old empires sufficiently destroyed their colonies. France made mass import of workers from North Africa. Britons brought workers from India and Pakistan. Holland brought Moroccans. Germany preferred to bring Turkish, but also took Greeks, Yugoslavians and Italians. Even the Spanish that did not want Muslims at all for historical reasons brought Muslims massively in 1970 for the needs of their economy.

Mainly, this working force was occupied for the hardest and heaviest jobs, was living in the urban ghettos and never attained the same rights with the natives. Even the second or third generation that had no Islamic education and the vast majority of them went to public schools (in France only 5% of the Muslims go to the mosques), they have not become first class citizens. Surely there are extremists as they exist in every religion. But they are an insignificant minority cut from the Muslim community.  If we can talk about something like that, their problem is not the Islamization of Europe, but the unemployment that hits always the weak.

The extreme right parties as the National Front of France, Liberty party of Austria or the British National Party etc., have invented a neologism: “Euroarabia”. And that means new pogroms. Islamophobia takes the place of the old anti-Semitism that carries basic characteristics to Islam. For example, that behind any world conspiracy Islam and Arabs are hiding. After 9/11, terrorism and Islam were coincided, and was formed the axis of good Bush and of bad Muslim. In Greece, these theories have not found a ground yet, because what  prevails is the native xenophobia and the specialized Turkophobia. But besides this, we have made neither a mosque nor cemetery for the Muslims. And maybe this is our own Islamophobia. At the point where there is no tolerance for the others, the different, there is no democracy and we enter in dangerous paths. And the other becomes the enemy.

As the first step in our journey to discover the European Muslim women’s opportunities and challenges that are hindering them from integrating into Europe’s different communities, IslamOnline.net (IOL)’s European Muslims Page is quoting Anna Stamou on the status of Greek Muslim women.

Name: Anna Stamou
Profession: Anna Stamou is one of the National Board Members of Muslim Association of Greece (MAG)
Country: Greece

IslamOnline.net (IOL): How do you evaluate the Muslim women’s situation in Europe?

Mrs. Stamou: I believe that the Muslim women in Europe have many opportunities to succeed in their fields of interest. However, they still face more challenges since the European atmosphere is not Muslim-friendly, though Europe is a tolerant continent.

IOL: What are the major problems facing Muslim women in the West? And how do you suggest they should react to these problems?

Mrs.Stamou: In this context, I recall a Greek saying “The Muslim woman has to prove that she is not an elephant,” this means that she must change the stereotypes that perceive the Muslim women as being oppressed, hidden behind their veils, brain washed, and with no free will and no rights.

After a Muslim woman manages to prove all these stereotypes wrong, then she has to encounter all major problems that any ordinary European woman has: starting with unemployment and having less career opportunities than men.

However, with faith and high educational level, a Muslim woman is able to cope with all challenges in life and to reflect her true reality.

IOL: What is the status of Muslim women in Greece? Are there any key figures who occupy high positions in society?

Mrs. Stamou:  Greece is divided into two main Muslim communities that rarely communicate. The smaller but the older community is the Greek Muslim minority of Thrace while the bigger but newer is the Muslim immigrants’ community. The later live all over Greece. The Greek converts mingle with the immigrant and mostly with the Arabic-speaking community.

The majority of the immigrant women in Greece are not active, especially for those women who try to provide Islamic education for other women or for their children. The successful women in Thrace have (in the majority) weak religious conscience and they try to manage their lives showing up their secular face.

Though we have some Greek Muslim women working in politics, they don’t wear hijab and they have never demanded any rights for Muslims. They pursue only their local claims (which are really a lot). The active women are the Greek converts who maintain their Greek culture and practice Islam freely.

IOL: What are your contributions in favor of the Muslim women in your country?

Mrs.Stamou: Since I became a Muslim, all my focus was on providing Islamic information, material, and inspiration for fellow Muslims. I started with publishing books and an Islamic cultural newspaper then my efforts included supporting other converts.

Now my responsibilities increased since I joined the Greeks Rethink team. I’m also responsible for the marketing and public relations of the Muslim Association of Greece.
I wish I could have the opportunity to organize a supporting program only for Muslim women, but so far this is not feasible because most of the Muslim women in my area have to reach the first integration step which is to learn Greek.

The Ministry of Education and the local authorities have launched very useful programs for teaching Greek to immigrants. Definitely we support those programs and encourage every Muslim woman who does not speak Greek to go and attend one of these programs. We are looking forward for the coming steps.

In fact, my team and I have many dreams and plans for Muslims in Greece. I strongly believe that all our activities will benefit my beloved country, because we do love Greece and Islam; an irresistible combination!

The Burkini swimsuit  – designed to spare the blushes of Muslim women worldwide  -  was plunged into controversy yesterday.

A French mother was banned from wearing the three-piece outfit at her local swimming pool.

Carole, a 35-year- old Muslim convert, was told it was ‘ inappropriate’ on hygiene grounds, but she insists the ban is racial discrimination.

It follows French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently attacking Muslim burkhas as a ’sign of subservience’ for women and saying they should be banned.

Carole  -  who did not want her surname published  - bought her burkini for £40 during a holiday in Dubai.

She said: ‘I was told that it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing off my body, which is what Islam recommends’.

She approached a number of swimming pools before the manager of one in Emerainville, near Paris, said there would be no problem with the burkini.

Carole, who converted from Christianity when she was 17, insisted: ‘For me, it’s discrimination. I understand that the burkini can shock, especially as we’re in France, but what disturbs me is that this is a political issue.

I’m going to fight this problem through anti-racism groups, and if no solution is forthcoming I’ll consider leaving the country.’ She has made a formal complaint to police at nearby Meaux.

Yannick Decompois, swimming pools director for the Marne-la-Vallie area, said: ‘This isn’t anything to do with discrimination, but simply a hygiene problem. We also ban people wearing shorts in pools  -  it’s the same thing.’

French pools bar any clothes that can also be worn outside, where they can pick up dirt and contamination.

In June Mr Sarkozy risked the wrath of Muslims by backing demands for the full-body burkha to be banned, calling it a sign of the ‘debasement’ of women.

‘In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,’ he said.

The president was supporting a call by dozens of French politicians for the ban.

France has Western Europe’s largest Muslim population, an estimated 5million. But in 2004 it passed a law banning the Islamic headscarf and other conspicuous religious symbols from state schools, sparking fierce debate at home and abroad.

Comment:

As the proud owner of a burkini, I can assure you that the excuse of hygiene  issues are non existent. The burkini is made out of a light, easy to dry material, very suitable for swimwear and is an absolute must to women who wish to swim but also keep their modesty. The burkini is not something that a woman would choose to wear outdoors. I have used the burkini in my local pool and it has not been a problem. I can see  now that another debate is going to arise. My question: “Who is oppressing Muslim women? Islam or the West?”

Source: Alarabiya.net

By Radwa Khorshid

Five years on, the Western media still frequently makes reference to what happened to the Dutch film director Theo van Gogh who was killed by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch Muslim of Moroccan origin, three months after the release of van Gogh’s Submission 10-minute movie.

Focusing on the topic of violence against women in some Islamic societies and using Quranic verses unfavorable to women projected onto their bodies in Arabic flew a Muslim fury at the movie, which is seen by Muslims as “an offensive and provocative one.”

Boyeri was accordingly sentenced to life without parole. Of course I do not defend this 31-year-old youth whose crime is neither tolerable nor acceptable; but I have a point to make about Europe’s Islamophobia.

The charges by the prosecutor against him included the following statement:

“The defendant rejects our democracy. He even wants to bring down our democracy. With violence. He is insistent. To this day. He sticks to his views with perseverance. This calls for a strong response. By literally placing him outside our democracy.“

And yes, according to the European Court of Human Rights “the idea of freedom of expression has an essential role to play in a democratic society, helping to foster the development of an open, tolerant society in which human rights are respected.”

Let’s now recall another recent scenario that took place in a European courtroom where a three-month pregnant veiled mother, Marwa al-Sherbini, was stabbed 18 times to death by a German 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W, who was “driven by a deep hatred of foreigners and Muslims,” according to a German official.

Axel W and Sherbini, an Egyptian living in Germany, were in court for the former’s appeal against a €750 fine for an insult to her headscarf, hijab, in 2008. Attempting to rescue his wife, Elwi Okaz — who was present with their child — was shot when a policeman opened fire in the courtroom. Okaz is now in a critical condition in hospital with an unpredictable future, whether dead or survived.

In Europe, the continent of freedoms and democracy, the hijab is still unacceptable by many Europeans, though, as a dress code for Muslim women, the hijab neither insults nor provokes others.

Sherbini’s mere crime was wearing the hijab and reporting a discriminatory act she faced, thus becoming a “terrorist” and deserving death — at least in Alex W’s eyes.

A few Western media outlets reported the case and referred to the murderer’s “hostile toward foreigners.”

With no purpose for raising any doubts about the German legal system and the way Dresden court, where Axel W is currently in custody, is dealing with the situation, German veiled Muslim women should now investigate into the death threat posed by any Islam- or veil-hater and call for safety procedures to follow.

It is not all about Muslims’ sympathetic attention given to Sherbini’s story; it is about the culture of accepting Islam and Muslims in Europe and the escalating Islamophobic trends towards Muslims and the veil.

According to a study conducted by the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), 59 percent of European Muslims nowadays believe that Islamophobic and discriminatory actions against them have become part of their “normal everyday existence” thus “nothing would happen or change” if they report such incidents to authorities.

Scanning through the two European death tragedies (Van Gogh’s and Sherbini’s), one can easily realize the difference in the way and magnitude of coverage adopted by the western media towards the two incidents.

Van Gogh’s killer was identified days after his crime, and was described by the Western media as a “radical Muslim,” “terrorist” and “extremist.” The whole genealogic tree of Boyeri made the media headlines for months.

In incidents like that, Western media gives the green light to any related fact that would spark a venomous attack against Muslim communities in Europe and thus guarantee a special outcome.

I am not accusing the Western media of stirring debate against Islam and Muslims, as it’s not their fault only. It is a culture and will remain a culture unless positive official and unofficial steps are taken.

Dialogue to bridge this gap is an effective solution. Objective media coverage is another one. But justice is the pre-condition for all of this and it must prevail. Muslims in Europe should continue to report discrimination and Islamophobic incidents, seek their rights and fulfill their obligations, and make their voices heard.

* Written for AL ARABIYA. Radwa Khorshid is the editor of IslamOnline.net’s European Muslims section and travels frequently to Europe. She holds a bachelor of law from Cairo University.

(Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά.  قراءة العربية)

According to Greek sources
Abbas has sought to abort the Jerusalem Conference in Athens

Greek political source said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intervened to frustrate the holding of the solidarity of Jerusalem and the conference in the Greek capital Athens, he used strong pressure to limit the attendance, although the conference was successful at the end.

The congress was held on June 22 in Athens  in the form of an international symposium titled “Jerusalem, the capital of Arab culture 2009 - Europe for Jerusalem and Gaza.”  This event was organized by the Hellenic-Palestinian Friendship & Europeans for Jerusalem with the participation of eminent personalities from Greece, Europe and Palestine, including politicians, parliamentarians, religious leaders and thinkers, intellectuals and representatives of civil society institutions.

However, sources in the Greek Socialist Party revealed the accurate information described, that communications are carried out by the Palestinian president in order to “encircle and reduce the participation in the conference as much as possible.”

The source added that Abbas had contacted George Papandreou personally, President of the PASOK Greek Socialist Party, and asked him to put pressure on his party’s parliamentarians and officials and to get them not to attend the conference “so that the level of political presence, to be low as much as possible.” Abbas also held communications to leaders of other political parties in Greece for the same goal, as assurances of the source.

The source said that “the arguments advanced by Mr. Abbas to put pressure on the politicians was that the Greek organizers of the conference, mostly are close to the government of Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza and do not agree with the views of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to adopt a negotiating approach in dealing with Israel.”

According to the sources, Abbas has also expressed dismay about the increasing activity of groups advocating the right of return for the lifting of the siege of Gaza in Greece, called on “all that is related to the movement of Palestinians should be done through the PLO and its ambassadors and representations abroad exclusively.”

Source: Kathimerini (Newspaper in Greece)

Al Maamoun, one of the most enlightened leaders of history, requested of Leon 5th neither money nor land. But only permission to acquire a collection of scientific writings that were stored by the Byzantine Empire. The caliph of Baghdad, once Leon gave his permission, launched one of the biggest in history of civilisation translation. The result was the exact version of the Ancient Greek literature in Arabic. In that period (700-1000) there were more translations of Aristotle in Arabic than in all the European languages.

As Mr K.P. Romanas (Professor of Philosophy in University of Aegean) claims, “for the communion of the Medieval Islamic world a lot has been written in Europe but hardly anything in Greece (…)”. Even in Europe, who received the light of the Greek culture to a great extent from the Islam of the Arabs, the conscience of this debt has only recently started to register and increase (..). It is obvious that Hellenism which found its supposed continuation in Orthodoxy would only possibly acquire the same enemies as Orthodoxy.

In the middle ages (2050-1050) the most renowned Aristotelian philosopher in the West , mostly widely known today as  Averroes ( Abu-al-Walid Muhammad ibn-Ahmad ibn-Muhammad ibn-Rushd), was an Arab from Cordova. He and a few others famous thinkers are considered to a great degree as the forerunners of the Universities in Europe. Averroes was at his time opposed from all religions as one of the greatest heretics in history. It was not of no small significance to teach mortality of the soul as a result of its close dependence to the body.

But in the making of Modern Greek history there is  no Averroes or Avicenna (Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah ibn Sina), but only Plython Gemistos ( his intervention is significant and is connected with the outbreak of Renaissance, but the fuel had already been accumulated by the Arabs of the 10th and 11th century). Somehow it determined our relationship with Islam. With half truths and always from “above”. from each authority with its interventions or the lack of them.

Greece has a unique feature compared to other European countries. It comprises the establishment of an “old” Muslim minority while in recent years it hosts also another “new” Muslim minority. Mr D Christopoulos (assistant professor in Panteion University) expresses how in Greece today “new” and “old” Islam co-exist.

One would expect that the existence of the “old” Islam would make things easier for the “new” Islam. However the new reality shows that in the collective social conscience Islam exists as close as to the stage of folklore. Engraved in Thrace is recorded as an act of a local matter. That’s why there the hijab, the 300 mosques and the Ottoman cuisine have been reported as “couleur locale”.

There might be no problem with the 300 mosques in Thrace, but there is a problem with the one mosque in Athens. Maybe the application of a small part of urban law of the shariah might not be a disturbance in Thrace, but in Athens the Muslims are excluded from all civil rights. For example in 2003 the then Internal Affairs Minister, Lampros Papadimas, decides that the entry in the registers of Thrace  for marriages solemnized in front of the Mufti of Thrace a) Muslim with non Muslima b) Greek national with foreigner c) Muslim with Muslim residing out of Thrace is not allowed .

In this way Constantine Tsitselikis, assistant professor of the University of Macedonia, observes, the possibility of the ceremony of Muslim marriages for out of Thrace residents is cancelled as they (the marriages) are not recognized under Muftia.

Here begins another dark story. The “new” Muslims of Athens (approx. 150,000 and 15,000 from the “old” Islam ) as they have not got the civil rights of the Greek people and having lived under the arrogance of the state, they will resort to legalize love, divorce , inheritance through Islam. Meeting the “old” in Thrace.

But since 2003 even this solution is forbidden and out of bounds. For obvious reasons the Greek state dreads the osmosis of the “two” Islam . So this fear justifies any guilt of their absolutely illegal decision.

They also have no right to death. To bury their own, they must either transport the body of the deceased to Thrace or to their own countries at a huge cost. The result: “They work to be buried and not to live”.

It goes without saying that the issue of coexistence with Islam does not seem simple or easy. But what we are witnessing these past days is the establishment of a social stigma against a religious group. Already treated unequally: by a group of religious rights (religious freedom), they are a group of collective target and monitoring as a matter of preventive security guarantee.

In this frame we watched a parade in the TV channels of some “unlikely presidents” of associations with just a stamp with “secret services accent”. And they «discover» foreign embassy forces by recognizing employees, but ultimately do not specify how they met them.

When Muslims were building Granada, Europeans were not exactly eating … acorns, but they remained a part of the underdeveloped world. When Arabia discovered the Algebra and Aristotle, their northern neighbours were sending heretics to the fire . Up to the Middle Ages the Muslim world dominated part of the then known world . It had invaded Spain and had come to the gates of Vienna.

With “yeast “the Ancient Greek Secretariat from the 7th century AD all the sciences flourished. Al Haitham, born in today’s Iraq in 965, did experiments with light and lenses, putting the foundations of modern optical science . He declared long before Galileo that the foundation of science should be the experiment. The mathematician and astronomer Al Birouni was born in today’s Uzbekistan in 973. He wrote 146 books (some 13,000 pages) one of which could now be characterized a sociological and geographical study of India. The philosopher and physician Ibn Sina, born in Bukhara (now Uzbekistan) in 891, made the encyclopaedia «The rules of medicine» a monumental achievement of one million words which was used as a university study manual in the West up to the 17^th Century.

What happened however, the West got the upper hand; because as the Arab culture started to diminish slowly slowly, the culture of the West started to rise. When the economy produces just enough for what is necessary for the livelihood of the people, there is no room….for arts. During the Middle Ages and up to the 19^th century the Arab merchants were extremely successful, but the Muslim institutional framework was tailored for only small scale trade.

For the Professor of Duke University, Timour Kouran, the Islamic law was the main obstacle to the transition, from the small trade to the next step: The concentration of big capital and big business. In his work “ The Islamic Commercial Crisis” : The institutional roots of the delay in modernising the economy in the Middle East, he proposes an explanation: “The Islamic law on partnership and inheritance rights has led to the businesses of the Middle East to remain small without allowing the development of equity firms.”

During the Middle Ages , both the Islamic and European laws required the partnerships to be dissolved if one of the partners died or was unable to work. In Europe the tradition was for the immediate family members of the deceased to inherit him,with result the company shares not to be divided between so many parties. The partnership was typically being dissolved and a new one was formed with the new partners. In Islamic law instead, the inheritance should be distributed to all the relatives (parents,uncles, children, etc.). So there was no way for it to be limited to one or two people only. This command came directly from the Qur’an and it was impossible to change.

Thus in Europe was the beginning of the formation of large companies that were able to push for changes in the legal frame work, to finally create large anonymous companies and the Stock Market, which financed the rapid growth. In the Islamic World instead, the development of such institutions was not possible due to the inheritance laws restricting the companies to a small size.

The large companies increased their productivity and the financial surplus to finance multi faced development. In the Islamic world things continued without major changes. The difference in the economic potential of the two worlds at first did not cause any problems. Up to the 18^th century the small Muslim partnerships had been extremely successful in their trade with Africa and Asia.

The companies In the west and especially in UK grew tremendously in size, gaining political influence and beginning to expand in areas dominated by Muslim traders. A clash was inevitable and surely the West dominated at times with heavy blood taxes.

Religious Minorities

But even within the Islamic States the religious minorities of Christians and Jews had the same advantages over the Muslims. Thus, over time the trade and business passed into their hands. This created tension between populations, revolutions and massacres, and also the need for the modernisation of the business laws in the 19^th century. “Today” says Professor Kouran “The Islamic inheritance law puts no barriers in large companies. The property is divided into shares and the companies have no reason to be dissolved .”

“I do not want to blame  the Islamic law. That is by definition wrong” concludes Mr Kouran, noting that institutions can not be judged ex post i.e. having the historical experience. “When the inheritance law was established into the 7^th century, Muslims did not think of the impact that this law would have in their right to trade after. It was referring to the inequalities of their time, their daughters remaining without properties and without job opportunities. But in the process the problem emerged  1000 years later.”