LONDON: Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) gave a lecture on “Islam – An Essential Component of European Identity” at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford, on 28 April, 2008. Professor Ihsanoglu reflected for a moment: Do the Muslims of Europe “actually belong to another peculiar world? For them, is Europe a host or home? Is Europe a Christian entity, or, from one angle, it has an Islamic component?” The OIC Secretary General elaborated his questions a little further. “Would Europe accept to be a continent for Muslims as well? Do Muslims constitute a considerable demographic, intellectual and cultural component of the Continent? And as a Continent and a geographic entity, does it belong partly to the Muslim world? In other words, does Europe have a Muslim identity as well, besides its distinctive Christian identity, and the additional identity that Europe has come to assert, after World War II, as belonging to a civilization based on Judeo-Christian traditions? So can we say that Europe is a Christian-Muslim Continent or not?” In a recent meeting with the President of a European country, the OIC Secretary General raised these questions. “The answer was: ‘You are asking too much and demanding too much.' I now ask this question: Was that the correct or the right answer? Or is the correct answer just the opposite of this spontaneous one given by that European head of state,” said the OIC Secretary General. Speaking about the European-ness of the European Muslims, Professor Ihsanoglu urged to consider the fact in its intellectual and geographic dimension and demographic reality. Intellectual dimension is best illustrated in the words of Prince Charles, Patron of the Oxford Center, when he stated in his lecture delivered in 1993, that Prof. Ihsanoglu quoted, “…. we have underestimated the importance of 800 years of Muslim society and culture in Spain between the 8th and the 15th centuries. Not only did Muslim Spain gather and preserve the intellectual content of ancient Greek and Roman civilization, it also interpreted and expanded upon that civilization, and made a vital contribution of its own in so many fields of human endeavor – in science, astronomy, mathematics, algebra (itself an Arabic word), law, history, medicine, pharmacology, optics, agriculture, architecture, theology and music etc. “Cordoba in the 10th century was by far the most civilized city in Europe. Many of the traits in which Europe prides itself came to it from Muslim Spain. Diplomacy, free trade, open borders, the techniques of academic research, of anthropology, etiquette, fashion, alternative medicine, hospitals, all came from this great city of cities. “Medieval Islam was a religion of remarkable tolerance for its time, allowing Jews and Christians to practice their inherited beliefs, and setting an example which was not, unfortunately, copied for many centuries in the West. “Islam is part of our past and present in all fields of human endeavor. It has helped to create modern Europe. It is part of our own inheritance, not a thing apart.” After quoting extensively from the lecture of Prince Charles, the OIC Secretary General argued, “Does not this judgment from a well-known, illustrious European figure give unequivocal credit to the Muslims' comprehensive and far-reaching contribution to Europe and Europeans in all walks of life, leaving permanent marks on their culture and existence? I believe that this quote is explicit enough regarding the importance of the intellectual dimension.” So far as the geographic dimension and demographic reality are concerned, the OIC Secretary General maintained, “Europe's boundaries include parts of the Muslim world, particularly in its Southern and Eastern regions. Demographically, Muslims of European ethnicity or indigenous Europeans, such as Albanians, Bosnians, Pomaks, Torbich, Romans, etc. (even excluding the Turks from the present debate on whether or not they belong to Europe) are all actually ethnicities of indigenous European origin. In addition, we should also not neglect the remaining Muslims of Spain and those who were forced to convert from their religion then returned to Islam!” Prof. Ihsanoglu argued, “Given that Islam today is the second-largest faith in Europe, embraced by so many Europeans, and given that our present-day civilization is not without strong Muslim roots, whether in the realm of science, philosophy, or the humanities, would it not be appropriate to qualify this civilization as “Muslim-Christian”? Would it not be right to admit that Islam and Muslims constitute one of the key components of this Continent? And therefore, would affirming these facts be considered as asking too much?” Concluding his speech, Prof. Ihsanoglu expressed hope that one day “the essential role of the Islamic heritage in the evolution of the Western civilization would be appreciated and understood more by masses, and a more informed understanding of Islam, its culture and civilization could be promoted in a way to support the efforts of the international diplomacy and media towards the creation of a more positive connotation in the relations of Muslim and Western worlds, from which all humanity would benefit.” __
