Islam in Europe : perceptions, misperceptions and coming to terms

The end of the Cold W ar has led to a much larger focus on ethnic and religious differences rather than ideological ones. This new era of international politics has indeed seen a proliferation of clashes between different ethnic and religious groups. It is said that the West is looking for a new enemy and that the most immediate of these is Islam. Islamic fundamentalism and the aggression associated with it is seen as a threat by many in the West. Events related to Islamic fundamentalism are receiving enormous media coverage in the Westem press. The reaction of most Westem countries to such events and Islam in general is negative. The perception of the West in many Muslim countries is also negative. Problems due to modemisation are blamed on the West who is perceived to be trying to undermine Islamic culture and civilisation. Both spheres in fact are having extreme factions set as the norm to represent the majority. The historical interaction between the two have led to an accumulation of negative images of the 'other'. This situation, however, is being challenged by the Islamic presence in Europe. Since the Muslim population in the continent is today accepted as being permanent, Europeans are trying to find better ways of living with their Muslim minorities. In order to do this they have to understand each other in a more objective manner to find solutions to growing social problems which may lead to a more general, even global, coming to terms of the two spheres. This study aims to examine the perceptions and misperceptions of the West and the Muslim world, and examine the experience of the Islamic presence in Westem Europe. It first focuses on the historical encounters of Europe and the Muslim world and how historical images have been passed on to the present day. Thenit examines how the West today perceives the Muslim world, and the attitudes of European countries towards their Muslim minorities. It also examines the perception of the Muslim world regarding the West and how Muslims in Europe perceive the 'host' states they are living in. Another emphasis is the position ofMuslims in Westem Europe and how European states are dealing with their Muslim populations. Their legal status and certain models of dealing with the Muslim populations, mainly that of assimHation and ethnic minorities - integration, are given consideration.