3 December 2016 included a series of panel discussions and workshops which gathered experts, academics, government officials and businessmen to share their insights and provide solutions for a lasting peace for a region in turmoil. One of the most interesting panels addressed the threat of religious intolerance in Europe. The panelists discussed counter-narratives to fight religious extremism. Olivier Roy, a French professor at the European University Institute in Florence, cautioned against rashly linking Islam with terrorism. He also argued that the current violence is simply politics and not a clash of civilizations. Professor Roy refuted the prevalent perception that radicalization is the result of failed integration. He explained that many of the European jihadists were well integrated and spoke French, English and German. They are very Western in their approach and hardly know anything about their Islamic tradition. He stated that they are more likely influenced by the violence in movies and video games. According to research studies these recruits do not belong to a Muslim community and most of them are not religious and many of them are petty criminals and drug addicts. He goes on to say that Islamist radicalization can neither be attributed to current foreign policy nor to colonial crimes. These young radicals don't know anything about the colonial wars in Algeria. They want a radical break from their parents' generation and find in Islam the best way to express, experience and live their rejection of society. The problem with Islam in Europe is the lack of a common narrative that connects all Muslims. There is a need for a European Muslim narrative. Muslims belong to different identities and European decision makers do not have any positive teachings on Islam. The identity search among young European Muslims has triggered the turmoil. The French scholar believes that the way to counter the narrative of Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) is by not depicting it as the biggest threat to Western civilization and not to allow radical Islam to have a monopoly on Islam. He argues that we should encourage the rise of normal Islam, not a moderate Islam. The concept of moderate Islam is totally misleading. We should let normal Islam emerge as a religion in the public sphere. In Europe, the trend is to consider any religion as a potential problem. In France the answer to radicalism is to marginalize religion more and to expel it from the public space and that is a problem he says. He believes that if Europe expels religion from the public space, then it will give religion to the extremists and the radicals. Professor Roy asserts that France does not have an Islamization of society. In polls, only 20 percent of Muslims in France are really practicing Islam. In fact, what is prevalent is the secularization of Muslims. But the more secularization you have, the more religion is visible because religion is not integrated into the dominant secular culture. Unfortunately, he says, religion in Europe now seems weird to people. The French scholar concluded by highlighting the need to urgently take a multidisciplinary approach when tackling the phenomenon of Islamist radicalization. He believes that radicals are not reacting to a real situation or conflict. They are in a virtual war, he says, pointing out that Daesh almost never mentions real conflicts. Instead, it attracts radical youth who are not adjusted to any society. It is not the revenge of the Afghans or Iraqis against the Americans. It is not connected to real struggles. They live in an imaginary world. Professor Roy believes that in Europe today the terrorism and refugee crises are linked, according to public opinion, with the young generation of Muslim youth who are making trouble. However, their problem is more related to disenfranchisement and petty delinquency than to Islam. Mufti Nedžad Grabus of Slovenia talked about the situation of Muslims in his country and said that some people try to create problems for the Muslim community in Slovenia. However, he stressed the fact that the Muslim community in Slovenia are Europeans and appreciate their European values. They are moderate and do not have militants among them. The Mufti argued that problems occur when people do not enjoy equal rights and when they are not allowed to satisfy their spiritual needs. He demonstrated how Muslims in Slovenia pushed for their right to construct their own mosques and to worship and live in harmony with the rest of the society. The Slovenian Mufti believes that it is better for European governments to allow Muslim religious and cultural institutions to operate overtly and not be forced underground. Both panelists presented the voices of wisdom and positive solutions to address the growing threat of terrorism and the radicalization of young Europeans. Their presentations provided a new perspective to the situation of Muslim immigrants in Europe. They refuted some of the misconceptions that linked Islam to terrorist ideology and offered practical solutions that could effectively counter the terrorist propaganda that is creating the divide between the West and the Muslim world. At a time when the region is going through a turbulent and violent cycle, the value of the Mediterranean Dialogue 2016 initiative organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies cannot be underestimated. The dialogue, which addressed regional challenges, led to the formation of new ideas and the rethinking of traditional approaches. Samar Fatany is a radio broadcaster and writer. She can be reached at [email protected]
