European Muslims: Model Citizens or Forever Foreign?

A debate organised by the British Council in collaboration with the European Policy Centre and the European Muslim Network.

10 November 2010, European Parliament, Brussels

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As on previous occasions, the third in the British Council’s series of Our Shared Europe debates in Brussels drew major attention from an international audience. Over 170 people gathered in the 120 capacity room to listen, exchange ideas and debate with a diverse panel of specialists on the topic of European Muslims and citizenship.

After an introduction by Robin Davies, Head of Europe team, British Council EU Office, Shada Islam, Senior Policy Officer at the European Policy Centre, and debate moderator, began by pointing out the necessity of injecting some intelligence into an issue which is often treated irrationally, emotionally and is sometimes even marked by signs of ‘hysteria’.

The bringing together of an MEP, a European Commission Senior Executive, an Imam, a Police Commissioner and an academic, meant that a wide range of views were expressed with each panellist tackling the topic according to his or her specific background and area of expertise.

Sajjad Karim, MEP, began by explaining how radical statements by a small minority of Muslims are often publicised for the simple reason that they are likely to draw attention – and equally to damage a whole community’s image.

Mr. Karim also spoke of his personal experiences, and what he perceived to be a significant change between his generation and the present one, who seem to feel so much more victimised and excluded by society at large than his own. “What are we really doing to integrate these populations?” he repeatedly asked, emphasising that current resources, in terms of finances and assistance, are not sufficient to favour proper integration.

Tareq Oubrou, Imam of the Mosque of Bordeau, explained how, in a post modern world, where the centres of power have shifted to the United States and to Asia, Europe itself is searching for an identity. In this context, the debate on Islam is more of a symptom of this search, rather than the real issue.

An essential point is also the fact that Islam is a religion and not a civilisation, and that it is defined by the society in which it is based. Islam, in a historical sense, has always succeeded in adapting to different times and contexts, and this is what it needs to do in Europe today: “The problem is then on both sides: not only do people assimilate Muslims to a race, but Muslims themselves tend to put the cult in places where it should not be”. He added that Western culture needs to be integrated in the practice of Islam.

Brussels Police Commissioner Saad Amrani discussed the numerous efforts of the Belgian police to bring about fruitful and positive exchanges between Muslims and non-Muslims. Echoing Sajjad Karim’s comment about resources being necessary to bring about integration, Amrani emphasised the importance of investing time and money to make lasting changes. He said that there has been progress, and in his opinion, things which were unthinkable 15 years ago – such as his occupying the position of Police Commissioner – are possible today. He added, however, that catastrophic events like 9/11 have not helped matters but have rather fed a growing mistrust. There is an element of fear towards foreign communities that needs to be addressed in order to build integration. Real integration is only possible through constructive, respectful and positive interaction.

Stefan Olsson, head of the Action Against Discrimination and Civil Society unit of the European Commission, highlighted how since the end of 1990s Europe has strong legal tools to protect European citizens from discrimination based on various elements including race and religion. “We have the institutional set-up to enhance these rights, but we still have a lot to do to make them known and to make them work in practice”, he declared.

Sophie Heine, Research Fellow, Université Libre de Bruxelles, made the distinction between political and cultural approaches to citizenship. Citizenship from a cultural perspective leads to a debate about common values and identities, Heine argued, and it makes the question of the veil one of the centrepieces of the debate. However, this shouldn’t be the case. Mixed identities should be separated from politics, and the issue of the citizenship ought to be addressed in political terms: it should be based on common rights. This doesn’t mean one can’t express one’s own culture, on the contrary, rather the debate around the citizenship should be built on political and civil rights.

The discussion that followed, which included some passionate exchanges based on personal experience, was wide-ranging and touched on the questions of European values, EU terminology (i.e. using “migrants” to describe 3rd or 4th generation citizens of migrant ancestry) and EU power in ensuring Member states implement directives into national legislation.


Biographies of particpants

Elected to the European Parliament in 2004, Sajjad Karim became the first British Muslim MEP. Representing the North West of England, he is now the Legal Affairs Spokesperson for the Conservative delegation and the Legal Affairs Coordinator for ECR group. He is also a member of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee as well as substitute member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. He was elected as Vice-President of the European Parliament's Anti-Racism and Diversity Inter-group and actively works to counter the rising levels of intolerance and the emergence of extremist groups across Europe. He has made his mark on the European stage on International Trade, and is the European Parliament's rapporteur on the free trade agreement with India. He also founded and is the Chair of the European Parliament Friends of Pakistan Group to provide a forum to share and discuss issues of common concern and mutual benefit between the EU and Pakistan.

Tareq Oubrou is a theologian and Imam, and he is Director of the Bordeaux Mosque in France. He is also author of the “Profession imam” (“The Imam’s Profession”) that was published last year. Imam Oubrou is also president of the Association of the Imams of France. He has conducted pioneering work on the formulation of Islamic law for minorities, aimed at adapting Muslims to the requirements of France's republican and secular system.

Stefan Olsson is Head of Unit (Equality, Action against Discrimination: Legal Questions) in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission. He has a legal academic background. He has worked in different departments within the European Commission since early 1996, dealing with varied issues such as the environmental aspects of trade in genetically modified organisms, serving five years as assistant to the Director General of DG Employment and most recently, heading a team responsible for legal affairs in the area of non-discrimination. Before taking up his current position, Stefan Olsson managed the unit responsible for equality policy and in this capacity he had the task of implementing the 1997 Year of Equal Opportunities for All. This initiative grouped for the first time together all six discrimination grounds set out in the EU treaty under one umbrella and launched a host of debates and activities across the 27 Member States bringing issues such as multiple discrimination and diversity to the top of the EU agenda.

Saad Amrani is a member of the General Staff of the Brussels Police Chief, where he is in charge of overseeing international demonstrations and multicultural issues. Mr Amrani joined the police force as Deputy Police Commissioner in 1996. He was a member of a joint task force dealing with youth delinquency and youth gangs in 'difficult ethnic neighbourhoods'. He also led the Police intervention service centre of Brussels. Mr Amrani has spoken at various conferences across Europe on police relations with ethnic minorities. Mr Amrani was born to a Moroccan immigrant family. He previously worked as a freelance translator.

Sophie Heine works as a Research fellow at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She was also for almost two years a Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Political Ideologies at the Oxford University and is now an associate member of that university. Ms Heine's interests concern conflicting visions of identity and of political and social justice, and the impact of European integration on these conceptions. Her doctoral thesis discussed "the Resistances against European Integration in France and Germany: an analysis of the ideologies underlying left-wing critiques against the European Constitutional Treaty". She has published various books and articles on these subjects.

Shada Islam is a Senior Programme Executive at the European Policy Centre, an independent not for profit think tank, who are committed to making European integration work. She heads the EPC’s Diversity Forum which aims at ensuring the mainstreaming of Europe’s ethnic minorities. Ms Islam has worked in Brussels for over 20 years, and also headed the Brussels office of the English-language service of DPA, the German Press Agency. Ms Islam also writes on immigration issues and questions related to Muslims in Europe. She is a frequent contributor and speaker at international conferences and an experienced moderator.