The western world, which is trying to promote anti-racism and multiculturalism as a norm and value, has had to deal with the most severe bout of racism and cultural hatred of recent times.
This bout is something cyclical in nature. It is a disease that never disappeared in its entirety and one that flares up again at the first opportunity, even if it recedes on occasion. Although modern western or modern European thought, even European Union thought, is constantly trying to fuel optimism that this disease has been permanently cured.
In reality however, the Western world is faced with its most severe test in this regard. The Ferguson events in the United States were an alarming example that while it was thought that the racism problem had been solved, it had actually just been suppressed, and that it can rear its head at every opportunity, and that it gains a significant reception when it does so.
The situation seems to be even more dire in Europe. It is said that after the Nazi experience, particularly after the pressure put on Germany, the German public developed very strong sensitivities against racism.
However, it seems that while for “now” this sensitivity remains intact when it comes to Jewishness, it does not lead to a sense of assurance for other races. Furthermore, with the exception of Jews, the discriminatory policies implemented against others, Turks and Muslims for instance, creates the ground for such behavior to be condoned, or even to be considered acceptable.
This creates the real danger. It has become almost routine to think that Muslims are the reason behind the many acts of violence and wars being experienced in the world of Islam. It tends to make it an “understandable reaction” when Muslims are held personally responsible for Islamophobia i.e. the hatred of Islam and Muslims.
Actually, it can be seen that the same path was adopted for legitimizing anti-semitism. “The Jews were engaged in acts that were deserving of hate. The anti-semites had no other choice.”
Those who hate Muslims are not responsible for their hate either; it is the Muslims who do things worthy of hate who are responsible. They never fall into step with European values, and do not do what is necessary to integrate with Europe.
In a way it is Islam which poses the real test for Europe’s claim to multiculturalism, as it the first really different culture that Europe is exposed to. Europe’s current composition of cultures that are successfully held together and which is mentioned with great pride, are all cultures from the European culture pool and represent different shades of the same culture. There is not much to applaud Europe for in bringing this variety of cultures together peacefully and forming a union.
The policies developed in regard to these variations in shades are not an indicator that the problem of racism has been resolved. What matters is the reaction it has when faced with a relatively different culture, such as Islam. Turkey’s European Union membership is basically a real opportunity for Europe to widen its horizons on this topic.
Islam, at the end of the day, is not something that is very distant from Europe, and not a culture that doesn’t exist within it, given its historical input toward the formation of today’s Europe, and given the substantial number of its adherents within the current borders of Europe.
The prevailing cultural climate in Europe, and the recent rise of Islamophobic discourse and actions everywhere in Europe, indicate that Europe has serious weaknesses in the face of this examination.
The popularity enjoyed by the recently emerged Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida) group in Germany is a warning sign. The group consisted of 300 members when it initially started to openly chant slogans such as “We don’t want to see Muslims in our country” during demonstrations in Dresden, a city, which in any case, has very few Muslim residents. In a short while though, it had gathered 20,000 members and was demonstrating and openly exhibiting its hatred of Islam in various cities across the country on a weekly basis.
Whether it be during these demonstrations or at other venues, it is being mentioned that they don’t want to see more mosques in Europe, and attacks on mosques, which have been identified as targets, are becoming more widespread.
Even as these developments occur on a societal level, the real concern is the situation where politicians are racing one another to become the voice of such racist developments. It enables the Christian Social Union in Bavaria party (CSU) to include the topic of “making it mandatory to speak German at home” in its program and bring it to the agenda.
It is loaded with meaning when Germany -- which constantly keeps the concept of education in the native tongue at the very top of the agenda as an important part of the chapter on Turkey’s democratization and human rights -- even thinks of such a move regarding Turks in Germany. In truth, it shows how distant they are from the very thing they suggest to us, and it even falls upon us to think of the reasons behind it.
This bout of racism, which the West believed it had consigned to the bins of history and had cured, is not something that can be taken lightly. If measures are not taken to counter this, then it is certain that it will wash away all gains made in the name of Europe.
SURELY WE BELONG TO ALLAH AND TO HIM SHALL WE RETURN
We make plans which we think are great in our mortal minds. We also consider ourselves to be very important in these plans. While we say it won’t be possible without us, the determiner of fate always issues us with warnings as the absolute owner of the plan and all plans… I arrived in Chicago to attend the annual conference of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Muslim American Society, the umbrella organization of American Muslims; but upon hearing of the passing away of my late Uncle’s son Mehmet Ali Aktay and his wife, Muazzez hanım, in a traffic accident in Şanlıurfa, I am returning on the same plane.
They were travelling to visit their beloved son who is doing his military conscription service. May Allah be compassionate. I would also like to thank all the friends who have called and left messages of condolence, but whom I haven’t been able to respond to due to my long flight.
