An exclusionist Europe? Islam and the reemergence of civic nationalism / ¿Una Europa excluyente? El Islam y el resurgimiento del nacionalismo cívico (original) (raw)
Related papers
An exclusionist Europe? Islam and the reemergence of civic nationalism
Araucaria Revista Iberoamericana De Filosofia Politica Y Humanidades, 2014
The fierce debates surrounding the 'emergence' of Muslim communities in Europe ensued in the resurgence of nationalism. The current article introduces an original criticism to the ongoing debates surrounding the return of Europe's
Islam and Europeanism; Cultural and Historical Critique of the Contemporary Neo-Nationalism Matrix
Journal, Social Scientific Centered Issues, 2022
The study addresses European Islam, Christianity, and contemporary neo-nationalism/neo- radicalism and their political/cultural/religious/historical conflict. First, the paper argues that the intriguing neo-nationalist and neo-conservative "opposition" between Europe and Islam affect sociopolitical stability, and non-epistemological sociopolitical processes manifest various temporal and spatial cultural-ideological positions. Second, a divergence of culture and Religion of Islamic Salafism (comparable to American Protestant fundamentalism and European religious colonialism), and Western Christians' emphasis on the spiritual experience (not an administration), marks a revival of religiosity. Third, opposing historiographical/fictional/literature/political sphere discourses formed and maintained the fundamentals of the Islam and Christianity climate of dispute. The terms "Christian Europe/Christian West" and "Islamic East" are imprecise and conflicting. Cultural perspective activates significant anti-Islam attitudes and legitimizes far-right sociopolitical processes. Considering dissimilar cultures as "adversaries" harming national identity is an illiberal and nationalist approach. In a historical/cultural/sociopolitical approach, the complex debate on violent Islamic extremism manifests a series of stereotypical narratives rather than examining the historical causes of the phenomenon. Promoting and comprehending moderate Islamic representatives, scientific experts, and activists is crucial. The politicization and securitization of Islam adversely impact peaceful coexistence. The discourse of the Islamic Reforms- contemporary Islam, analogized to Christianity's modernization, resulting in secularism and liberal democracy, is an open-minded question. Religious movements, in general, are often neither tolerant nor liberal but based on dogmatism. The European "left-wing" sociopolitical anemia, radical Islamic terrorist organizations, states exploiting disorder, and ineffective international engagement contribute to the European migrant crisis complexity (i.e., from Muslim countries). Such processes are consequential regarding wars and human rights abuse in the Muslim world. Moreover, these conditions affect and increase traditional discriminational patterns concerning European Muslims. The current European "Muslim question" displays a comparable generalization ideology- the historical foundation of Anti-Semitism. A united Europe and anti-fascism are the most significant values that should challenge the critical conflict and assert a persisting peace criterion. Keywords: Islam, Christianity, Europe, Neo-nationalism, Neo-radicalism, history, Culture, Religion, Security, Peace
A new form of political discourse hostile to Islam has been gaining ground in Europe. Initiated by neo-nationalist parties it appeals to liberal values and is now penetrating mainstream politics. The recent French presidential campaign threw light on the way Centre Right parties vying for government are increasingly instrumentalizing hostility towards Islam to respond to the political crisis triggered by the problem of public debt across the European Union. Critics are approaching this phenomenon through the lens of Foucault's notion of governmentality, questioning the assertion that Muslims cannot integrate in European societies because of their religion and highlighting the failure of European nation states to treat them as citizens and promote their socio-economic inclusion. This perspective yields valuable insights: it shows how the presence of Muslims challenges the belief of European societies in their self-perceived rationality and tolerance, resting on their commitment to secularity as epistemic category. The strident defense of secularism that accompanies Islamophobia is part of the discourse of securitization that characterizes the neo-liberal form of contemporary governmentality and promotes the de-politicization of social problems. The notion of governmentality, however, cannot account fully for the root-cause of Islamophobia: the loss of collective purpose that has triggered a crisis of government and seen the concern for efficient governance to erase the goal of collective self-determination. At heart, Islamophobia constitutes a manifestation of the European states' crisis of democratic legitimacy.
Bans on the burka and other religious dress in Western Europe manifest a narrow interpretation of freedom of religious expression that in turn exposes the liberal core of human rights. This article argues that these restrictions operate as racialized neoliberal biopolitics, casting Islam as an oppressive and detrimental "other" that does not permit true (liberal) freedom. Rights based in citizenship that reject manifestations of religion impose the need for practicing Muslims in Europe to internalize liberal values and prioritize their citizenship identity over their religious identity. This raises questions for universalist and constructivist conceptualizations of rights.
Muslims as the European "Other": Between Self-awareness and Fundamentalism
Poligrafi 85/86 (2017): 131-153. The issue Islam and Democracy is available at: http://www.zrs-kp.si/revije/single/poligrafi-85-86-islam-and-democracy-2271 The sphere of religion underwent significant changes during the course of the 20th century. Among those, the one that left the biggest impact was secularisation. It is possible for us to state that while the process of secularisation certainly took place, that alone does not imply that religion will disappear but rather indicates the dissolution of the monopoly over the choice regarding the final significance. The new interpretation of subjectivisation as well as the new relation between the mundane and the cosmic is causing a major stirrup in the domain of religion. These tensions started to become strained after the fall of the Iron Curtain and after the increase of the importance of »The Clash of Civilisations« between the East and the West. A careful analysis proves that people practising »traditional« religion in the West have more in common with the fundamentalists from the East than they do with those practising »modern« religion in the West. There is, therefore, an apparent rift in the society. It has been labelled »The Clash of Civilisations « although it should probably be classified as »The Clash of Fundamentalisms.« Keywords: secularisation, fundamentalism, construction of the Other, identity of the West, religious violence.
Religion, State & Society, 2009
The paper suggests that European political identity, as a fragile project, is always in need of external significant 'others' in order to buttress a sense of common fate within the sui generis political entity of the European Economic Community/European Union (EU). Adopting a historical and diachronic perspective, the paper argues that for decades the threat of Eastern European communism represented one such external other as a gathering element for Western Europe, but that with the end of the Cold War this 'other' was gradually replaced by the threat of Islam and Islamism (and by extension Turkey's possible entry into the EU). Europe's threat was first the communist sickle; it is now Islam's crescent. Such a portrayal is obviously problematic because of its populist and simplistic appeal that has served political purposes. This needs to be questioned. The return of religion through what is currently described as desecularisation is a rather recent issue for Europe and the question of multireligious Europe ought to be taken seriously. The paper argues, in the line of Delanty, that one should adopt a civilisational approach to Europe, thus giving real space to differences within Europe, and reflect on certain biases of secularity and laı¨cite´towards the dominant religion in various countries.
2019
This book breaks away from this clash between Islam and the West, by arguing that European Islam is possible. It analyses the contribution that European Islam has made to the formation of an innovative Islamic theology that is deeply ethicist and modern, and it clarifies how this constructed European Islamic theology is able to contribute to the various debates that are related to secular-liberal democracies of Western Europe. Part One introduces four major projects that defend the idea of European Islam from different disciplines and perspectives: politics, political theology, jurisprudence, and philosophy. Part Two uses the frameworks from three major philosophers and scholars, to approach the idea of European Islam in the context of secular-liberal societies: British scholar George Hourani, Moroccan philosopher Taha Abderrahmane, and the American philosopher John Rawls. The book shows that the ongoing efforts of European Muslim thinkers to revisit the concept of citizenship and political community can be seen as a new kind of political theology, in opposition to radical forms of Islamic thinking in some Muslim-majority countries. Opening a new path for examining Islamic thought ‘in and of’ Europe, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Islamic Studies, Islam in the West and Political Theology.
Europe's Encounter with Islam: The Secular and the Postsecular
2012
In the last few years, the Muslim presence in Europe has been increasingly perceived as ‘problematic’. Events such as the French ban on headscarves in public schools, the publication of the so-called ‘Danish cartoons’, and the speech of Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg have hit the front pages of newspapers the world over, and prompted a number of scholarly debates on Muslims’ capacity to comply with the seemingly neutral and pluralistic rules of European secularity. Luca Mavelli argues that this perspective has prevented an in-depth reflection on the limits of Europe’s secular tradition and its role in Europe’s conflictual encounter with Islam. Through an original reading of Michel Foucault’s spiritual notion of knowledge and an engagement with key thinkers, from Thomas Aquinas to Jurgën Habermas, Mavelli articulates a contending genealogy of European secularity. While not denying the latter’s achievements in terms of pluralism and autonomy, he suggests that Europe’s secular tradition has also contributed to forms of isolation, which translate into Europe’s incapacity to perceive its encounter with Islam as an opportunity rather than a threat. Drawing on this theoretical perspective, Mavelli offers a contending account of some of the most important recent controversies surrounding Islam in Europe and investigates the ‘postsecular’ as a normative model to engage with the tensions at the heart of European secularity. Finally, he advances the possibility of a Europe willing to reconsider its established secular narratives which may identify in the encounter with Islam an opportunity to flourish and cultivate its democratic qualities and postnational commitments. Endorsements 'Why is the presence of Muslim communities in Europe considered politically problematic? Most European observers point to their cultural and religious difference from the non-Muslim majority. But European states claim to be secular, that is, based on the principle of religious neutrality. In this book Luca Mavelli takes a more original approach by linking the ‘problem’ to epistemological shifts that he identifies in the emergence of modernity. The result is an intelligent and learned study that deserves to be widely read and pondered over.' - Talal Asad, Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, author of Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity 'Luca Mavelli has written a very timely and provocative book. Comparing a variety of Euro-American takes on secularism to each other and all of them to several perspectives on Islam in Europe, he opens new lines of possibility for a post-secular culture. This is a sparkling and compelling book.' - William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor, Johns Hopkins University, author of Why I am not a Secularist 'Luca Mavelli offers a sophisticated ‘alternative’ genealogy of European secularity to help us rethink and reframe Europe’s problematic ‘encounter with Islam.’ The end- result is an original, elegant and thought -provoking monograph that both illumines the conceits of secularisation theory as well demonstrates the constricting horizon of extant critique. Mavelli problematizes and deconstructs the secular, situates it within the longue durée of Western Reason, and uncovers the episteme that continues to reproduce scopic regimes of capturing Islam’s ontological presence in Europe. ' - Mustapha Kamal Pasha, Sixth Century Chair & Head of International Relations, University of Aberdeen 'This is a truly original and extraordinarily timely ‘intervention’ that should be welcomed by an overlapping scholarly community. It is the product of a cumulative, synthetic endeavour that bundles together thus far scattered layers of social and political theory and the often too dispersive discussion of current affairs. It does so in ways that facilitate the mutual clarification of both a type of theory that might otherwise appear too distant from facts (like some key concepts from Foucault’s oeuvre), and of facts that without appropriate theoretical backgrounds might fall prey to simplifying interpretive schemes (like the ‘clash of civilizations’ theorem and cognates). On this account, the level of knowledge produced by Luca Mavelli is really outstanding.' - Armando Salvatore, University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, author of The Public Sphere: Liberal Modernity, Catholicism, Islam. 'Luca Mavelli offers an original contribution to the discussion of Europe's encounter with Islam. The book is a remarkable attempt to offer insight and develop research on the contradictions within the European political project. In this respect, the book offers a compelling argument by suggesting that the present debate on Muslim integration is led on one hand by Europe's incapacity to perceive Islam as an opportunity rather than a threat and that this debate has its roots in a tension at the heart of the secular episteme, on the other hand by the attempt to integrate the Muslim Other through the imposition of universal narratives, which do not offer any perspective for who does not comply with the image of the European self.' - Marco Scalvini, LSE Review of Books, August 2012
RELIGION, POLITICS AND CHALLENGES OF CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN IDENTITY
Research result. Sociology and Management, 2020
The question of modern European religious identity surpasses its spiritual and ecclesiastical boundaries and firmly dwells within the political sphere. This is precisely why this is a topic of great interest for the scientific discipline of politology of religion. It has been widely accepted in the European secular narrative that religion has lost its cohesive role and power, but faced with new temptations it could regain some of its vitality and importance. Such signs are visible and easily detectable even in some of the member states of the European Union such as those belonging to the Visegrád Group, but also in the wider European scale. In our opinion, it is precisely the question of identity that has found itself in the main stream of political, geopolitical, and even security and economic temptations of Europe, and even of Western civilization itself. The question of religious identity has thus become the focus of interest of many political, religious and other thinkers, who recognize the acuteness of this problem. All this is eloquently reflected, not only in the self-understanding of modern Europe, but also in its attitude towards the issue of the growing Islamic element on its own territory, its relationship with the Islamic world, [Baudrillard, 2002: 162] and, also, with China, the United States and especially with Russia. In that sense, as a paradigm of such relations, understanding and misunderstanding of the European Union with other geopolitical factors on a global level, can serve the fact that, on July 4 2020, constitutional changes came into force in Russia, which clearly determine this great power as a state based on Christian foundations. [Bilbija, 2020] Although this, of course, does not disqualify this world power as a society based on the separation of Church and State, nor does it in any way violate the principle of equality of all traditional religious communities on its territory, we will see that this concept is essentially foreign and ideologically unacceptable for today's European Union and much of the Western world. Namely, as we will see, the modern Europe (or more precisely-the European Union) builds its ideological matrix not on the foundations of its own Christian heritage, but on the foundations of agnostic secularism and liberalism, as inaugurated by the French Revolution, which places our topic in the domain of politology of religion.