The Muslim Minorities in Europe and America

Written by Dr. Moona Mokarram Obeid
Professor of the American university of Cairo
The Muslim minorities in the west, either in the European countries or in the United States of America are the sign of the civilization extension of the Arabic and Islamic nations and we do know that the Islamic culture is the essential element which has brought into existence the Arabic civilization. So it is reckoned as a bridge that has created bonds among the Arabic and Islamic countries and the west.
The roots of the creation of the Islamic minorities in the west go back to the era of the Ommayyed dynasty in Andalusia which we witnessed the transmission of Islam to the Europe from the south west of that continent and afterwards the Muslims reached to the south of France and then to the east of Europe that it is coincident with the time that the ottomans reached to Vienna, the capital city of the then empire of Austria. That it caused a great number of the inhabitants of Balkan region were converted to Islam.
Those new converted Muslims afterwards created the nucleus of the Muslim minorities who for the time being are residing in the east of European continent which it is an indication of the historical bonds of the Islamic culture with the west.
Through the increasing of the numbers of the Muslim minorities as well as the increase of their activities in the cultural areas, in recent years the Islamic communities in the west have had continuous advancement.
The statistics in this area show that at least seven million Muslims live in the united states of America and during the recent decades a number of the Islamic cultural organizations and centers have been emerged in that country which they play a great role in the arena of U.S. A.
About 35 million Muslims live in the European Union (EU) which it is expected by 2020 the Muslims constitute almost 10 percent of the total population of European continent.
The statistics show that there exist 7006 Islamic unions, association and mosque in the European Union (EU) which more than 16 million Muslims benefit from their 7254182_Begum_194.jpgservices.
The Muslim minorities in the west are facing with great challenges, even though there are differences among the challenges which the Muslims are facing with them in the U.S.A and EU but within EU the problems of each country differ with the other ones.
In the United States of America the dominance of Zionism upon the mass media has played a crucial role upon restricting the mass media pressure on the Muslim minorities which its reason goes back to the dominance of the Jews upon the key economic stances of the United States of America.
But as we already mentioned the situation in EU differs from one country to another one. In Italy the number of the Muslims is Less than one million which 80000 new Muslims of Italy have been added to them. They have established 450 mosques but the government has not yet accepted Islam as an official religion. In Germany the number of the Muslims is more than three million people that most of them are Turk. The German yet look at Muslims as the Foreigners who are dangerous to them.
In Britain the Muslims constitute more than five percent of the total population of the country and their number is more than two million people which one third of them have Indian race and the Muslims in Britain speak in almost one hundred accents (languages) which have root in 56 countries.
The English Muslims have 600 mosques that they have been registered as the institutes of charity. In 1963 there existed only 13 mosques in England. There exist also 1400 Islamic Associations in Britain.
Apparently the situation of the Muslims in Britain is better than the other countries because the legislation of Britain has a positive outlook upon the various ethnical groups and considers some what distinction to them. Under the aegis of the authorized freedoms with respect to the expression of the political identity the tribes of Muslims became able to express their opinions in this political system.
But, in France in which the greatest population of the Muslims has been allocated in its lands it has a considerable anxiety concerning the mixture of the Muslims and it doesn't have a clear policy with regard to the mixture of the migrants. In this country there live almost six million Muslims who have 1300 mosques and 600 associations as well as several Local Radio station. In addition to them there live more than one hundred Muslims from French race.
Following the ascension of the extremist right wings who had put the control of the foreigners migration in the agenda of their commitments, the issue of the migrants allocated a great section of the recent presidential elections to itself. Hence the New government undertook a policy which its aim was restriction of the disgust against the foreigners, never the less the Muslim minorities in spite of these challenges in the recent decade have had an extensive emergence specifically under the aegis of the quantitative evolution of existence of Islam in the west. They have propounded themselves powerfully in the western societies.
The recent era is witnessing the emergence of a new generation of the Muslims who were basically generated in the west and saturated with the western culture.
So that the children of this generation in comparison with their fathers who underwent a lot of grieves in connection with assimilation and mix Turing in the western societies they stand in the better status. This recent era is the testimony of the increase of the cultural activities of the Muslim minorities in the western societies who live in them, but this increase of the Islamic existence in the recent decades encountered with the other challenges that prevented its roles.
These challenges have been arisen from the nature of relationship existing between the west and Islam which encompass a considerable extent of the inconsistencies which their expansion become an actual problem. These inconsistencies stem from the contentious legacy of bonds between the west and Islam which is full of the mutual hesitations and doubts in the pre-modern era particularly in the arena of the crusades. The mentioned war was an extensive confrontation between the two sides which simultaneously used to encompass the political and the religious areas. Even though the religious are as of the mentioned wars beyond themselves used to hide the political greedy which several historical era pass from that event.
The reason of it is the savage nature of those wars (crusades) which have kept alive them in the mind of the Arabs, the Muslims as well as the westerners.
Although the world new order changes encompass a great deals of the necessities of bonds among the nations which there has not been considered the racial and cultural differences existing among the nations but the spreading of the process of globalization, has nurtured the thought of conflicting between Islam and the west, particularly this thought has been possible through the extensive expansion of the thought of conflicting among the civilizations.
In fact, a number of the essential factors have put Islam and globalization in a face to face situation as well as inconsistent with one another.
The contemporary globalization through the seriousness which has chosen propounds itself as an integrated system. In addition to its cultural and economic areas globalization intends, politically set up a democratic system in the western method, a system which is based on pluralism, freedom of speech and thought through its own channels against it, Islam is not merely reckoned as a pure religion but it is recounted as a pervasive system of life which has a number of critiques about the affairs which the globalization promulgate and it has its own specific theses and inconsistencies with regard to the areas of globalization.
The September 11th event which is practically one of the essential indications of the variety of the international system of post cold war once again has propounded the conflict of the civilizations.
Consequently, the aforesaid event once again has kindled the argument and polemic around the world of Islam and at the heart of the world of Arab in one hand and the west at the heart of the United States of America on the other. This issue has brought about dominance upon dialogue and we do know that following termination of the bipolarity of the world the United States of America at present time has been put alone at the head of the International system.
What is important in this argument to us is the negative influence of it upon the situation of the Muslim minorities in the west.
Although there is difference among the situation of the Muslims who are residing in the United States of America with the Muslims residing in Europe and the emblems of the discrimination against the Muslims are more obvious in the United States of America which following September 11 the incident led to the murder of a number of the Muslims in that country.
It is worthy to be indicated the civilization sense in the United State is lesser than its correspondent in Europe. There should be added also the historical bonds as well as the geographical neighborhood among the world of Arab and Islam in one hand and the Europe on the other hand. This issue causes the better situation of the Muslims in Europe in comparison with their situation in the United States of America.
The main problem is this that the Muslim minorities residing in the west do not constitute a single unit which it makes easier the pressure inflicted upon them. This issue stem from the ethnical and lingual multiplicity of the minorities which from various countries with the purpose of achieving various interests have migrated to the west. This situation has caused the leadership organizations of the minorities to undertake a greater role in the area of uniting them so that they organize a united stance such as the Jewish minority in the society of U.S. A.
More important than all these organization present a true image from Islam to the west which this issue requires the establishment of the more Islamic cultural centers and supporting the existing centers. Thus under the aegis of the ignorance of the westerns with respect to many Islamic principles it is an important issue.
Activating the role of the Muslim minorities in the west as well as the strengthening of the bonds of them with the societies that they live in them doesn’t mean melting of these minorities in those societies but it means lack of discrimination and it constitute bridge between them and their homeland.
Hence with the purpose creating the sound relationships among the west and the Arabic and Islamic countries there could be take these minorities into account, the goal is activating the bonds among the minorities and terminating their seclusion so that they influence upon the societies that they are living in them at present.
This issue requires creating the fixation of the interesting and consolidation of the dependence of the Muslim minorities to the world of Islam which it will be possible solely through the training of the proper beliefs particularly to the new generation who were born in the west.
It doesn’t need to be mentioned that the world of Arab and Islam should support the Arabic and Islamic minorities residing the west so that they have an audible voice in that important region of the world. Through the collapse of the borders (frontiers) and the geographical structures as well as the refractoriness of the communications and information revolution in the era of globalization this work will find a particular shape.

A great victory for the Muslims residing in Canada
In 1991 there was enacted a bill in the state of Ontario of Canada which according to it the ethnical, religious and cultural minorities were permitted without referring to the secular courts of Canada by referring to an arbitrator selected among themselves to settle their commercial and family differences.
According to official authorities of Canada the enact of this law was with the purpose shortening the official process of surveying upon the cases as well lessening the bureaucracy ruling upon the courts as well as the judicial expenses of the government of Ontario.
The first minority that answered to this invitation positively and send their claims through referring to the arbitrator were a group of the Jews.
At the end of 2003 some groups of the Muslims held a conference and elected a representative to prepare the establishment of an institute under the name of the Islamic Shariah courts.