European Muslim Initiative

“A New Challenge for Social Cohesion: Protecting and Promoting Fundamental Rights for Muslim Communities”

International Colloquium

09 Janvier 2013

European Parliament

 Objectives of the Colloquium

European democracies are encountering deep socio-economical, political and societal crisis. European democracies, which have been known for respecting the fundamental rights of its citizens, are experiencing the rise of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and violent extremism.

These unfortunate developments is not only causing fear and restlessness among the ethnic and religious minorities but also resulting in the prohibition of positive movement towards cohesiveness as well as the restriction of basic freedom.

Mainstream political discourse, particularly in times of elections, is contaminated by xenophobic and anti-Muslim statements, which aim to portray Muslims as the reason for the failure of the policies promoting diversity and co-existence. Needless to say that such statements are not backed by any scientific research or data collection but because of populism and voter’s consideration as well as curtail the presence of Muslim communities through draconian laws and xenophobic reactions. At the same time, the democratic demands from the Muslim communities are being ignored. There is very little acknowledgment of the contributions of Muslim communities to European development in the fields of labor and service market, business, culture, sports, demographic changes and indeed in many other sectors.

In this difficult situation, it is clear that Muslim communities need moral and political support in convincing decision makers in Europe to change their anti-Muslim discourse and consider them as co-citizens.

To achieve this objective, it is necessary to move the discussion in the heart of Europe. European Parliament could be involved and take some resolutions on what is acceptable or not.

It is also important to strengthen its relations and co-operation with NGOs and representatives of Muslim communities in Europe, which are involved in helping the minorities. To assist this vital effort, we are putting in motion, this international Colloquium on Fundamental Rights of Muslim Communities.

This event is organized in partnership with some intergovernmental organizations and various partners from civil society.

Concept

The idea of freedom is one of the fundamental philosophical and political concepts that underpin individual and collective life in democratic societies.

It entails both freedom from interference; and the power and means to fulfill one’s aspirations. For centuries, freedom as a general principle, as well as in its particular forms (belief, faith, expression etc), has been enshrined as a fundamental right in modern constitutional and human rights documents.

Is freedom, however, a goal in itself or a means to an end? In other words, is more freedom always better or should its practice promote other individual and collective positive values in society? And what happens when the exercise of freedom impacts negatively on the rights and well-being of others – for example, when freedom is abused in order to insult, degrade or undermine others? Should freedom be occasionally constrained in order to avoid dangerous excesses that impact on others? Or should it be treated as an absolute right in its own terms that trumps all other rights, whether in the private or the public sphere?

The recent broadcast of the film Innocence of Islam has reignited the debate on freedom of expression versus anti-Muslim prejudice and incitement to hatred. In western societies many have supported freedom of expression per se against accusations that the film (like other incidents in the past, such as the Danish cartoons) has violated other freedoms and struck at the heart of the very idea of spirit of mutual understanding and respect necessary in a democratic society.

Meanwhile, Muslims around the world have protested strongly against the film, not only because of its insulting caricaturing of Islam as a religion of hatred but also because of its perceived intention to insult Muslims and promote Islamophobia.

The film has become ubiquitous, aided by internet communication and the refusal of western governments to ban it. It has been seized upon by rightwing populists politicians (like other similar films in the past, such as Geert Wilders’ Fitna) and used in inflammatory public discourse against Islam and Muslim communities in Europe. Mainstream media coverage has focused exclusively on the protests (particularly the most violent and extreme cases) without seriously addressing the content or intentions of the film, thus fuelling pervasive anti-Muslim stereotypes and contaminating public discourse with anti-Muslim hatred. The debates about freedom of expression and the responsible exercise of this very right were mostly reduced to either superficial declarations about democracy or heavily ideological statements.

This event aims to approach this debate from the viewpoint of promoting the values and structures of inter-culturalism in contemporary European societies. The very fact that such a film was produced in the first place, let alone seized by populist politicians and media, points to a dangerous misconception of freedom – that some rights are superior to others, that some rights have absolute value regardless of their consequences on the lives of others, that some rights can be freely exercised even if they deliberately strike at the heart of shared values of equality, mutual respect, and pluralism.

This kind of antagonistic, inflammatory freedom should have no place in genuine inter-cultural societies, where the well-being of each individual or group should only be pursued as part of promoting (and protecting) the wellbeing of all those who participate in these societies.

It is of course important to continue to challenge the abuse of freedom of expression if this is calculated to promote hatred (Islamophobia) and enforce existing stereotypes (caricature of Islam as a religion of violence and intolerance). But we need to also promote and embed a new human rights consciousness as ‘common language’ in our societies, through which to establish channels of participation, interaction, and mutual understanding in all fields of life. The rapid division of our societies into separate public spheres that no longer communicate with each other means that we cannot work out any informal agreement on what freedom really means in a modern, plural society; and on how it can be exercised responsibly in order to promote harmonious co-existence as opposed to further division, mistrust, hatred, and eventually violence. Unless communities come together in a plural public sphere and unless they establish fruitful channels of participation and mutual understanding, episodes such as the recent film will continue and perhaps increase, fuelling more hatred and subverting the foundations of both interculturalisme and universal human rights.