Muslim leader warns of ‘Europhobic’ backlash

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 23/06/05

An increase in racism towards Muslims in Europe threatens to spark a dangerous 'Europhobic' backlash across the Islamic world, a senior Muslim leader has warned.

According to Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Conferences, which represents 1.3 billion people world-wide, Islamophobia is increasing in Europe.

It was, he said, a "new symptom of an old disease" and risked polarising relations between Europe and the Muslim world.

The rejection of the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands suggested that "the liberal acceptance of others is diminishing", he said.

"My fear is that if this Islamophobia escalates it will have side-effects where it will generate what we could call 'Europhobia' or 'Westernphobia'," he told European Voice.

"Then we will be facing a kind of polarisation. In the end this polarisation is for nobody's benefit and it is dangerous for everybody."

The 62-year-old Turk, who was in Brussels to attend the US-EU conference on Iraq, expressed his concern at recent trends in the EU.

"You have racism in certain countries, an old traditional racism unfortunately and now in the big transformation in Europe after this rejection of the constitution in two major countries, the old liberal European thinking or liberal acceptance of others is diminishing."

There are estimated to be 13 million Muslims living in Europe.

Ihsanoglu blamed a lack of understanding of the Islamic faith for damaged relations between Europeans and Islamic immigrants.

"Islamophobia may be in Europe because the Muslim population in Europe, the immigrant population, be it from whatever geography of the Muslim world they originated, are representing the poorest and lowest income people who are struggling to seek better standards of living," he said.

On the other hand, Islamic immigrants were often perceived as a threat to European workers.

"You have unemployment in certain European countries, so when you have the immigrants coming from abroad from Asia, from Africa and they are competing for available jobs then we have a problem."

But he pointed out that the war on terror was also to blame. "9/11 and the fingers pointing towards the Islamic world as those responsible for terrorism is another misleading parameter. Terrorism is an international issue, a global problem, it is not a religious problem," he said.

Ihsanoglu pointed to allegations of desecration of the Koran by US troops, which had prompted mass demonstrations across the Islamic world, leaving 15 dead in Afghanistan. "It is very serious...this improper stance towards Islam and the holy values of Islam by irresponsible people, or responsible people, results in big reactions. These radical perceptions on two sides should be remedied," he said.

Claude Moraes, a UK Labour MEP, who chairs the Parliament's Intergroup on Racism, said: "There is no question that Islamophobia existed before 9/11; there is no question that it has increased.

"There is a lot of frustration because people used 11 September to vent some of their prejudices."

Some elements of them were now "finding space to flourish," he said.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Conferences, believes Islamophobia is increasing in Europe and that it risks polarising relations between Europe and the Muslim world.

Website: Organisation of Islamic Conferences http://www.oic-oci.org/

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