Muslims in Western Europe After 9/11: Why the Term Islamophobia Is More a Predicament Than an Explanation
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SECURITIZATION AND RELIGIOUS DIVIDES IN EUROPE Muslims In Western Europe After 9/11: Why the term Islamophobia is more a predicament than an explanation 1 June, 2006 Jocelyne Cesari, GSRL-Paris and Harvard University Submission to the Changing Landscape of Citizenship and Security 6th PCRD of European Commission UK: Chris Allen, University of Birmingham Netherlands: Marcel Maussen, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES), University of Amsterdam Germany: Yasemin Karakaşoğlu, University of Bremen Sigrid Luchtenberg, University of Duissburg-Essen Frank Peter, Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World Riem Spielhaus, Humboldt University, Berlin France: Alexandre Caeiro, Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World Spain: Jose Maria Ortuño Aix, the Observatory of Penal System and Human Rights (OPSHR), University of Barcelona Italy: Mirna Liguori, University of Trento Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….....05 United Kingdom……………………………………………………………………….........49 Relationship between State and Muslims…………………………………………….53 Status of Ethnic Minorities………………………………………………………………..57 Anti-Terrorism and Security Laws………………………………………………………65 Immigration Policies……………………………………………………………………….67 Physical Abuse……………………………………………………………………………….70 The Public Space…………………………………………………………………………….72 The Media Space…………………………………………………………………………….74 The Political Space………………………………………………………………………….80 Role of Intellectuals………………………………………………………………………..83 Religious Practice of Islam……………………………………………………………….84 Significant National and Local Measures to Fight Islamophobia……………….85 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….94 The Netherlands……………………………………………………………………………100 Relationship Between State and Muslims…………………………………………..107 Status of Ethnic Minorities……………………………………………………………...113 Anti-Terrorism and Security Laws…………………………………………………….118 Immigration Policies……………………………………………………………………..119 Physical Abuse……………………………………………………………………………..122 Media Coverage of Islam………………………………………………………………..124 Role of Political Leaders and Political Parties……………………………………..126 Role of Intellectuals………………………………………………………………………130 Religious Practice of Islam……………………………………………………………..131 2 of 323 Provisions for religious practice: Muslim schools andmosques……………….134 Significant National and Local Measures to fight Islamophobia………………136 Concluding Remarks………………………………………………………………………138 Germany……………………………………………………………………………………..143 Relationship Between State and Muslims…………………………………………..145 Status of Ethnic Minorities……………………………………………………………...146 Anti-Terrorism and Security Laws…………………………………………………….148 Immigration Policies……………………………………………………………………..150 Physical Abuse……………………………………………………………………………..153 Media Coverage of Islam………………………………………………………………..155 Role of Political Leaders and Political Parties……………………………………..167 Role of Intellectuals………………………………………………………………………172 Religious Practice of Islam……………………………………………………………...175 Significant National and Local Measures to fight Islamophobia………………184 Conclusion…………..………………………………………………………………………185 France………………………………………………………………………………………..195 Relationship Between State and Muslims…………………………………………..196 Status of Ethnic Minorities……………………………………………………………...199 Anti-Terrorism and Security Laws…………………………………………………….202 Immigration Policies……………………………………………………………………..204 Physical Abuse……………………………………………………………………………..206 Media Coverage of Islam………………………………………………………………..208 Role of Political Leaders and Political Parties……………………………………..210 Role of Intellectuals………………………………………………………………………212 3 of 323 Religious Practice of Islam……………………………………………………………...215 Significant National and Local Measures to fight Islamophobia………………220 Spain………………………………………………………………………………………….227 Relationship Between State and Muslims…………………………………………..241 Islam and Immigration Laws…………..……………………………………………...244 Physical Abuse……………………………………………………………………………..248 Role of Political Leaders…………………………..……………………………………..256 Religious Practice of Islam……………………………………………………………...259 Status of ethnic minorities………………………………………………………………267 Anti-terrorism and Security Laws……………………………………………………..267 Media Coverage of Islam………………………………………………………………..283 Role of Intellectuals………………………………………………………………………289 Significant National and Local Measures to fight Islamophobia………………290 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..292 Italy…………………………………………………………………………………………..301 Introduction: Islam in Italy…………………………………………………………….301 Anti-terrorism measures in Italy………………………………………………………304 Anti-terorrist army exercises in Italy…………………………………………………306 Verbal aggression/hate speech in politics………………………………………….307 Mass media and representation of Islam in Italy………………………………...312 The practise of Islamic religion in Italy……………………………………………..318 Fighting Islamophobia…………………………………………………………………...319 4 of 323 Introduction Jocelyne Cesari, CNRS-Paris and Harvard University USE OF THE TERM “ISLAMOPHOBIA” IN EUROPEAN SOCIETIES Although the first occurrence of the term Islamophobia appeared in an essay by the Orientalist Etienne Dinet in L’Orient vu de l’Occident (1922), it is only in the 1990s that the term became common parlance in defining the discrimination faced by Muslims in Western Europe. Negative perceptions of Islam can be traced back through multiple confrontations between the Muslim world and Europe from the Crusades to colonialism.1 However, Islamophobia is a modern and secular anti-Islamic discourse and practice appearing in the public sphere with the integration of Muslim immigrant communities and intensifying after 9/11. The term has been used increasingly amongst political circles and the media, and even Muslim organizations, especially since the 1997 Runnymede Report (Islamophobia: A Challenge for All). However, academics are still debating the legitimacy of the term (Werbner 2005, Modood 2002, Vertovec 2002, Halliday 1999)2 and questioning how it differs from other terms such as racism, anti- Islamism, anti-Muslimness, and anti-Semitism. 1 These confrontations were often phrased in terms of religion—Islam v. Christianity—as demonstrated by Maxime Rodinson, Daniel Norman, and Edward Said. See: Daniel Norman, Islam and the West, the Making of an Image (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1980); Maxime Rodinson, La fascination de l’Islam (Paris: La Decouverte, 1978) ; Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Pantheon Book, 1978). 2 See Pnina Werbner, “Islamophobia, Incitement to Religious Hatred-Legislating for a New Fear?” Anthropology Today, vol. 21, no. 1 (2005), 5-9; Tariq Modood, “The Place of Muslims in 5 of 323 The term Islamophobia is contested because it is often imprecisely applied to very diverse phenomena, ranging from xenophobia to anti-terrorism. As Marcel Maussen points out in his chapter below, ‘the term “Islamophobia” groups together all kinds of different forms of discourse, speech and acts, by suggesting that they all emanate from an identical ideological core, which is an “irrational fear” (a phobia) of Islam.’ However, the term is used with increasing frequency in the media and political arenas, and sometimes in academic circles. The European Monitoring Centre on Xenophobia and Racism (EUMC) report documenting the backlash against Muslims in Europe after September 11th was titled ‘Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001.’ In France it has been used in several important academic studies although it is still rejected by the Consultative Commission on Human Rights (France Report). In Le Monde, a premier news journal, the term has appeared in over thirty articles in the past year and more than 150 in the past ten. However, a search of Der Spiegel, a premier news journal in Germany shows only six uses in the past year. Another term in more regular usage seems to be ‘Islamfeindlichkeit,’ which expresses the anti-Muslim sentiment but does not imply the same fear. The term and even the idea have only recently become used in academic work, where previously the study had been about Muslim communities rather than German attitudes towards them (Germany Report). The use of the word is very common in the United Kingdom (UK Report), where the aforementioned Runnymede Report of 1997 helped launch its popularity. An examination of the archives of The Guardian reveals that the term has been used hundreds of times within the last year, often by prominent politicians and commentators. Notable also is the existence of the group FAIR, Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism, created by Muslim activists. By contrast, in America, the term appears only twenty-six times in The New York Times, and except for editorials by Muslim activists, always refers to the situation in Europe. However, it has been used regularly by the group CAIR, Council on American Islamic Relations. Searching through British Secular Multiculturalism” in Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam: Politics, Culture and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization, ed. Nezar Alsayyad and Manuel Castells, 113-30 (Lanham: Lexington books, 2002); Steven Vertovec, “Islamophobia and Muslim Recognition in Britain” in Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens, ed. Yvonne Yazbek Haddad, 19-35 (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002); Fred Halliday, “Islamophobia Reconsidered,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 22, no. 5 (September 1999), 892-902. 6 of 323 other media, the usage of the term appears to be rising, perhaps partly due to its use by activist groups. There have been several recent studies on European Muslims which relate to Islamophobia. The EUMC reports on discrimination against Muslim populations