Kenan Camurcu

On October 16, 2020, in Paris, teacher Samuel Paty showed caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, published in Charlie Hebdo magazine, to his students, including Muslims, as part of a tolerance education lesson. Paty was brutally murdered by beheading after this initiative. The perpetrator of the incident, 18-year-old Chechen Abdullah Anzorov, was shot and killed in a police operation.

A form of Islam that believes it has the right to execute anyone who draws or publishes caricatures of Prophet Muhammad on a whim is met with strong reaction in the West. European leaders are no longer as hesitant as they once were to make statements that might lead to accusations of Islamophobia. This is because they do not want to live with Islamist fanatics who do not believe in legal processes, deem them unnecessary, and think they have the right to kill people on the grounds of insult to their religion.

In fact, this objection is also valid from an Islamic perspective: from where do these fanatics and radicals derive the right and authority to take people's lives under the pretext of insulting religion? Especially when it is clear that the narratives claiming the Prophet responded to insults in such a way are fabricated. This is because there are only stories and self-declarations by individuals who claim to have carried out these executions in the early period of Islam, made years after the Prophet's death. If they truly committed these murders, it means they are attempting to legitimize their crimes by claiming the Prophet instructed or tacitly approved these actions.

As I promised in the first article of the Islamophobia literature series, I will address the assassination stories from the early period of Islam in a separate article and clearly demonstrate that these acts had no connection with the Prophet.

French President Emmanuel Macron, reacting to the murder of Samuel Paty, stated that they would not cease publishing caricatures targeting Prophet Muhammad. To protest the incident, the same caricatures were projected as giant posters onto government buildings in the cities of Montpellier and Toulouse. In other words, the terrorist act, aimed at intimidation and demoralizing society rather than merely punishing, led to an escalation of reactions.

Mohammed Moussaoui, President of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, claimed that the publication, display in schools, and projection of Prophet Muhammad caricatures onto walls were not appropriate and could not be considered "freedom of expression." Moussaoui condemned the Paty murder but also argued that freedom of expression could be limited when religious values are concerned. However, he did not provide answers to questions such as what those values are, who determines religious values, the philosophical and legal significance of considering criticism as insult, and who sets the criteria for limiting freedom of expression.

As tensions continued, on October 29, an attack was carried out at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice, resulting in the stabbing deaths of three people. Police shot and wounded 21-year-old Tunisian Ibrahim al-Ouisawi, who was attempting to behead one of his victims while shouting "Allahu Akbar" during the attack, which also left others injured. Tunisia announced, "The attack was organized by a group called the Southern Tunisia Al-Mahdi Organization."

On the evening of November 2, four civilians were killed and 22 people were injured in armed attacks at six different locations near a synagogue in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It was announced that at least three individuals carried out the act, and one of the attackers was killed by the police.

That week, ISIS carried out attacks outside Europe, targeting a church in Mozambique and a university in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer described the Vienna attack as an "Islamist terrorist attack." According to Nehammer, the attack was an attempt to weaken or divide Austria's democratic society.

The assailant, Kujtim Fejzulai, who held dual Austrian and Macedonian citizenship, had been sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019 for attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS, but was released shortly thereafter. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer announced that the suspect had only served 7 months in prison due to his young age and was released in December 2019.

Austrian Integration Minister Susanne Raab announced that a mosque and an Islamic association, which had "influenced the radicalization" of the attacker Fejzulai, would be closed. It was stated that a preacher at this mosque had commanded a German-speaking brigade in Syria and was later killed in a drone attack.

It is true that Europeans tolerated jihadists to overthrow the Syrian regime. And that most of these terrorists travelled to Syria from European cities. Jihadists were a cost endured for the overthrow of Assad and the removal of Syria from Iran's sphere of influence. But they could not foresee that controlling that cost would be impossible. When the jihadists brought terror to European cities, it became clear that the error margin in the support given to them was much larger than anticipated. Jihadists not only destabilized European cities but also radicalized ordinary Muslims.

ISIS's attacks in Europe came at a time when the organization was believed to have been defeated in Iraq and Syria. Experts warned back then that the group would carry out similar suicide attacks, like the one in Sri Lanka in April 2019 that killed 359 people. Although the Syrian Democratic Forces announced the "destruction of the so-called caliphate" when the last ISIS territory was liberated, terrorism researchers Michael Knights and Alex Almeida found that the organization carried out 1669 attacks in Syria alone in 2019 and 566 in the first quarter of 2020.

The Islamic world, having suffered greatly from nihilistic terror, therefore reacted strongly to the tragedy in the Vienna attack. The Vienna attack came while the pain of the racist terror attack in Hanau, Germany, in February 2020, which claimed the lives of 9 immigrants, was still fresh. The fact that those who lost their lives in the Hanau attack were Turkish, Kurdish, German, Bosnian, Pakistani, and Romanian was considered proof that terrorism cannot be attributed to a specific religion or ethnic identity.

Representatives of Muslim communities unanimously stated that terrorism, whether ISIS or racism, is an ideology of nihilistic terror. It was emphasized that political groups or politicians willing to associate terrorism with Islam have another agenda and are not concerned with all ethnic and religious groups uniting to defeat terror.

Although this approach seems well-intentioned and constructive, its disregard for the fact that terrorists originate solely from within Muslim communities naturally raises suspicion. Furthermore, it overlooks that the epistemological groundwork radicalizing these terrorists draws from credible Islamic sources. Consequently, preventive measures do not include the necessity of starting by discussing the theory and structural nature of Islam.

Counter-Terrorism or Public Life Ban on Islam?

With the aforementioned attacks, Europe has once again returned to the discussion of "Islam's place on the continent." Rising far-right and racist groups advocate for the expulsion of the Muslim population from Europe. Representatives of right-wing politics, while not currently proposing such radical ideas, are working on measures that would make the Muslim population invisible in public life.

In Austria, Susanne Raab, the Minister for Integration in the coalition government formed under Sebastian Kurz's leadership in 2020 (Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Greens), stated that they would have zero tolerance against "political Islam in the country." Raab also announced that the ban on headscarves for girls would be extended to the age of 14.

Raab's reference is based on the findings of a research published in December 2019 by Kenan Güngör, a German sociologist and political consultant of Turkish origin. According to this research, 55% of young Afghan men living in Vienna consider Islam to be above Austrian laws, and 45% want to see an Islamic leader at the top of the state. Minister Raab claimed that political Islam aims to establish sharia law and undermine the democratic system.

Support for Prime Minister Kurz's statement regarding the banning of political Islam also came from conservatives in the European Parliament. Manfred Weber, Chairman of the European People's Party Group represented in the European Parliament and a member of Germany's Christian Social Union (CSU), stated, "The political arm of radical Islamists poses a threat to our liberal orders in Europe."

This is not a new approach. The EU Independent Commission on Turkey, chaired by Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, wrote in its 2004 report on Turkey: "There is also a fear that with the diminishing influence of the army, political Islam, unhindered, might come to power in Turkey, and thus in a significant EU member state, by fully utilizing the rights of the democratic system."

The lament of the EU delegation that the army would be deprived of its ability to suspend democratic procedures and its encouragement to prevent the rise of "political Islam" is undoubtedly an extreme statement, but it should be evaluated in the context of Europe's helplessness in the face of a greater threat and danger, and with the expectation that it would be tolerated.

Franco Frattini, the EU Commissioner for Freedom, Security, and Justice, openly stated in 2007 that he supported Turkey's full EU membership with the hope that it "would be useful in the fight against radical Islam": "One day I imagine the idea of a European Islam being realized. I am talking about an Islam where religious freedoms are respected, where young people are not educated with hatred and violence. Our partners with whom we will work, imams, religious leaders, and non-radical communities, will be the vast majority of Muslims living in Europe who are victims of terrorism and radicalization. This is Europe's strategy."

What does the EU, which scores democratic standards in countries, mean by "political Islam" that frightens it enough to abandon the democratic system?

Europe's Immediate Threat: Political Islam

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz made a series of strong statements after the Vienna attack. Among them, the announced counter-terrorism measures implied that the Austrian government viewed "political Islam" as the ideology of Muslim radicals and terrorists. The announced measures were as follows: individuals who joined jihadist groups in the Middle East, then returned to Austria and were imprisoned, would have their free movement restricted after release from prison and would be electronically monitored; dual citizens classified as "foreign terrorist fighters" or convicted of terrorism would be stripped of their Austrian citizenship; state aid to these individuals would be cut, and their driving licenses would be revoked.

Vienna established a Documentation Center under the banner of "fighting political Islam." A budget of 500,000 Euros was allocated for this institution, similar to the center founded in 1963 to combat Nazism and conduct research on neo-Nazi groups. The center would profile the activities of Muslims. The establishment of the center led to comments that Nazi ideology and the religion of Islam were being equated.

Hakan Gördü, General President of the Soziales Österreich der Zukunft (Social Austria of the Future / SÖZ) Party, claimed that the government could easily stigmatize any individual or institution with the overly broad term "political Islam." Gördü stated, "An individual who is interested in politics and defends the rights of Muslims can be seen as a manifestation of political Islam in their eyes." Political scientist Dr. Farid Hafez from Georgetown University also pointed out that the term "political Islam" is deliberately left undefined, making it more convenient to use against Muslims. According to Hafez, the primary goal here is to present any civil opposition put forth by Muslims as a criminal activity, on the grounds that it represents "political Islam."

The reaction of EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson to the statements from the Austrian government could provide a clue as to what Austrian officials actually mean by the threat they code as "political Islam": "Islam is not a threat. Terrorists are the threat. Extremists who appear Islamist and far-right extremists must be fought. Migration is also not a threat to Europe."

Public Space Ban on Islam

During the presidency of Jacques Chirac in France, the wearing of "visible religious symbols" was banned in public schools and government institutions. Although generalized as "religious symbols," it was understood that this referred primarily to headscarves. The process continued under the subsequent president, Nicolas Sarkozy, with the enactment of a law banning the wearing of "full-body covering burqas in public spaces." President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, is pursuing the implementation of his promised "French Islam" from his election campaign, intending to outlaw other forms of Islam. While Macron was working on reorganizing Muslim organizations, he prepared a law on "combating Islamist separatism" in response to criticism from the far-right.

In a speech, Macron, while criticizing a certain ideological stance by referencing Wahhabism, radical Islam, and Salafism, suddenly targeted Islam directly, stating, "Islam is a religion experiencing a crisis all over the world." His subsequent statement regarding opposition to "political Islam"—"We do not believe in political Islam, we do not believe it is compatible with world stability and peace"—indicated a more structural perspective on the issue. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin further broadened the scope of "political Islam" by expressing discomfort with dedicated "halal food" sections in supermarkets across the country.

It seems this will not be the end of it. Examples have begun to emerge proving that all Muslims are being held responsible for terrorist attacks. Muslims' rejection of Prophet Muhammad caricatures has also started to be included under the scope of "political Islam," and thus terrorism.

In Albertville, France, four children were treated as terrorists due to their responses to a teacher regarding Prophet Muhammad caricatures. Early in the morning, their homes were raided by French police, and the children were taken to the police station for questioning. Three of the 10-year-old children were of Turkish origin, and one was of Maghrebi origin.

The incident occurred after some children at Louis Pasteur Primary School responded to a question by saying they "did not like the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad and found them bad," leading their teacher to report them to the police. The children were taken alone to the police station after the police raid and questioned for 11 hours. It was claimed that one of the children, when asked by the teacher what he thought about the murdered teacher Paty, replied, "I was sad he died, but if he hadn't shown that caricature, nothing would have happened." The families denied this statement and announced that they had requested a police report but were not given any documents.

Professor Dr. Hasan Köni, a faculty member at Kültür University, explains the turbulence Europe is gradually sliding into as follows: "There are nearly 6 million immigrants in France. They think it's impossible to control them in this economic situation. They fear radicalization if they don't adapt to their culture, and they are implementing a 'Frenchification' policy. They will become even harsher. They also have major internal problems; remember the Yellow Vests. As the economy worsens, racism rises. This has also revealed that both America and Europe are hypocritical regarding human rights."

Populism Corrupting Democracy

The saying by German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf, "Populism is simple, democracy is complex," is believed to explain the rising populism in Europe. Factors such as the economic crisis in Europe, globalization leading to unequal income distribution, rising unemployment rates, and an increase in terrorist incidents are considered influential in the rise of populism. Populists are against elites and pluralism. There is concern that both weaken the country. This is the same mass anxiety, fear, and hysteria that brought Hitler's Nazism to power. The increasing concern about security and identity is leading to the popularity of the populist right in Central Europe. As Sharia demonstrations increase in European cities, it is clear that there will be no more center-right, and the far-right will begin to establish authoritarian regimes. Or is a hidden hand encouraging Sharia demonstrations to hasten this political outcome? Is that too much of a conspiracy theory?

Now that the far-right wind has strengthened in Europe, the Austrian Freedom Party managed to become the leading party in the 2024 general elections with 28.8%. This is such a strong wind that the leftist Greens were forced to enter a government with the far-right Austrian Freedom Party to gain power. This is related to the recent development within the left to "respond to right-wing populism with left-wing populism to be able to gain power." However, those who warn that this is a dead end find the attempts to copy right-wing populism, which seems to be an answer to helplessness, alarming.

German political philosopher Jan-Werner Müller expresses his concern: "Strategically, it doesn't make much sense for leftists to try to resemble Trump or Le Pen in some respects. If they are talking about appealing more to emotions in politics, that might be possible, but it's not that important. But if left-wing populism, in accordance with what real theoreticians like Argentine political scientist Ernesto Laclau say, refers to something much more beyond that, then I think it's a worrying situation."

Bertrand Badie, an experienced political scientist with the title of "emeritus professor" at Sciences Po Institute in France, states that two parameters should be considered to understand the language and attitudes used by Macron and Erdoğan, and comments that domestic public opinion formation is used as a tool in external diplomatic relations: "Macron, like Erdoğan, has the desire to present public opinion as a witness and transform an intergovernmental problem into a problem of disagreement. Opinions in countries spread faster than political discourse and government choices."

Jawad Bachare, President of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), criticizes Emmanuel Macron for prioritizing issues related to Muslims instead of addressing pressing domestic problems: "While there are serious economic, social, and, with Covid-19, health problems, they have now presented us with the Muslim problem. Because targeting Muslims is easier than solving the real problems." However, this approach ignores the capacity of Muslims to cause problems. As if Muslims exhibit admirable civilized behavior, are top-tier in adapting to rules and customs, are overflowing with skilled and qualified human resources, and contribute greatly to the country's economic, social, intellectual, and political excellence, and yet governments are targeting Muslims for no reason.

European Islam

With French President Macron's initiative to introduce "French Islam" to combat "political Islam," the topic of "European Islam" has once again become a subject of discussion. Macron's reform package includes cutting foreign financial and political influence over French Muslims. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey were criticized within the framework of these discussions.

Under the new law announced by Macron, the practice of bringing in foreign imams and language teachers will be abolished. Foreign aid to associations will be prohibited. State aid will be cut off for associations that do not sign the secularism clause. In social life, religious demands such as virginity tests will be penalized, and Muslim organizations and mosque associations will be subjected to strict financial oversight. To establish "French Islam," religious scholars will be educated in a secular culture in France, an Islamic Theology University will be founded, Islamic studies will be increased in university chairs, and Arabic will be taught in public schools if there is demand. Demands such as 'halal meat' in school canteens, 'female doctors' in hospitals, and 'women-only sessions' in pools will cease. Compulsory education will be extended from ages 3 to 16, from preschool to high school. Every Muslim, whether in school, mosque, street, or association, will be raised as an individual committed to republican rules and the principle of secularism.

A similar initiative exists in Germany. A group including Cem Özdemir, former co-leader of the Green Party, sociologist Necla Kelek, female imam Seyran Ateş, psychologist Ahmad Mansur, and former SPD Federal Parliament member Lale Akgün, came together under the umbrella of an organization called the "Secular Islam Initiative." The initiators stated their aim to "promote the development of an Islam compatible with human rights" and proposed that Muslim immigrants organize independently from the institutions and religious representatives of their countries of origin, while also listing among their goals the secularization of Islam by reducing the decisive role religion plays in daily life.

However, the institutional situation in Germany differs from the aspirations of these initiators. According to Article 136 of the Constitution, the state has no church, and everyone can establish an independent religious institution. Almost all Islamic institutions have acquired this status. The highest level that religious institutions can achieve is the status of Körperschaft des Öffentlichen Rechts (Public Law Corporation). The German Protestant and Catholic Churches hold this right. Religious institutions with this status are granted certain advantages. They are exempt from state taxes, can collect taxes from their own members, can open nurseries, schools, etc., in the name of the church and receive state support, determine the content of Protestant and Catholic religious education provided in public schools, and have veto power over staff appointments at university faculties of Protestant and Catholic Theology. However, apart from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Hessen state, no Islamic institution has yet been recognized as a Public Law Corporation equivalent to the Catholic and Protestant Churches. (Çukurova University Journal of Faculty of Theology Year: 2020 Volume:20 Issue:1)

The "European Islam" debate is undoubtedly very different from the framework presented by Macron and similar populist leaders. Bassam Tibi, a Syrian-born political scientist living in Germany, began using the term "Euro-Islam" in the 1990s. In 1999, Tariq Ramadan also tried to develop a theoretical and practical system called "European Islam" for the integration of Muslims into European countries. (Çukurova University Journal of Faculty of Theology Year: 2020 Volume:20 Issue:1)

Bassam Tibi recounts encountering an phenomenon called "Afro-Islam" during a trip to Africa in the 1980s: "The Islam I saw in Senegal was quite different from the Islam I knew in Damascus. So, a European Islam could also be a possibility." https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/avrupa-islaminin-fikir-babasi-bassam-tibi-104548

Alija Izetbegović, a prominent representative of European Islam, was asked in a magazine interview about his views on those belonging to the Wahhabi sect or sympathizing with the Taliban. Izetbegović stated that his understanding of Islam was very different from these two groups. He clearly stated that the Bosnian people did not like religious extremism and that Bosnia and Herzegovina could not be established as a religious state due to its multi-cultural, multi-national, and multi-religious nature. Izetbegović explained his vision of Islamic democracy with the concept of European Islam. Izetbegović highlighted that the indigenous European Muslim peoples did not perceive Europe as an enemy.

According to Tariq Ramadan, Muslims living in Europe become alienated from Europe because they seek solutions to their religious problems in the answers of scholars living in their countries of origin. (Ramadan, Being a European Muslim, 2005: 150-151).

Europe's alienation from Islam is undoubtedly based on historical prejudices. However, this situation transformed into "fear and hatred of Islam" after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Islamophobia rapidly became a widespread concept in everyday life across Europe. The term can be filled with very different reasons, ranging from xenophobia to anti-immigrant sentiment, rejection of cultural differences, and opposition to terrorism.

Europeans punish Muslims who resist integration with structural poverty and deprivation. The Muslim Development Index, prepared annually in parallel with the Human Development Index within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme, shows that the socio-economic scores of Muslims living in Europe are far behind the country scores. According to one interpretation, the main problem in prosperous countries is welfare chauvinism, which does not want to share wealth with immigrants and foreigners.

All statements referring to the integration problems of Muslims living in Europe are accused of being hypocritical. Because, according to them, the reality is the exact opposite: there are institutional social and political barriers that resolutely prevent the integration of Muslims.

This premise is somewhat contradictory, of course. Why would Europeans both desire full integration and prevent it, especially when they are not planning to send back immigrants who have been settled in European countries for many years? However, if Muslims interpret integration as imposing their culture on Europe, this is a demand that will not be accepted in Europe, the cradle of critical thought. How can the world of burqa, niqab, etc., reconcile with the European Enlightenment?

Conclusion

There is considerable evidence indicating that racism is not an isolated political stance. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance's (ECRI) report on "Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism and Intolerance in Europe," published between January and December 2009, revealed that Muslims faced discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, education, and justice. Let's call it a twist of fate for Muslims who tirelessly strive to impose rights deprivations on Jews.

In Chatham House's research, participants in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom were asked whether they agreed with the proposition "all immigration should be stopped, especially from Muslim countries." 55% of participants agreed with the proposition. While 25% remained undecided, only 22% rejected it.

In an environment of deepening economic problems and security concerns, the policy of directing reactions towards "the different" may increase the votes of the far-right, but it does not solve the social and economic problems of EU countries. The spread of far-right ideas also pushes centrist parties towards the margins. This shakes faith in the EU's proclaimed values such as multiculturalism, tolerance, and non-discrimination based on religion, language, gender, and nationality. It is clear that this uncertainty creates a fertile ground for Islamophobia literature.

It is being debated whether the issue is generally related to terrorism and the security of social life, or specifically to Islam and Muslims themselves. Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter between 1977 and 1981, raised the level of sensitivity in approaching the problem so much that he, for example, warned Obama against using the term "jihadist." This was because jihad in Islam signified a sacred act, and if terrorists were defined as jihadists, they might be positively perceived by Muslims.

According to the TEPAV report, what fascinates radical Salafis who have chosen terrorism is not deep intellectual discussions, metaphysical conceptions of theology, or the philosophy of the perfected human (insan-ı kâmil) in Sufism, but action and violence. These people are attracted not by education that involves long processes of contemplation and reflection, nor by a life of spiritual purification and asceticism, but by a militaristic life and actions directed towards violence.

The ECHR, in its reasoned decision dated September 13, 2005, seems to have identified what fuels radicalism:

“Freedom of expression does not include insulting the Islamic religion. Such an insult undermines Muslims' freedom of religion and conscience.” The ECHR also ruled in its 2018 decision that insulting Prophet Muhammad does not fall within the scope of freedom of expression.

We are not in the Middle Ages. The security of societies cannot be guaranteed by castles, walls, and ramparts. And without security, prosperity is unsustainable. Even the most prosperous countries are suddenly forced to abandon their high standards of social life the moment terrorism sabotages them. The Islamophobia literature is proof that Muslims avoid confronting this plain truth and initiating a strong self-criticism. Their frequent resort to this cocoon to try and make headway is causing weariness in Europe.

Transleted by Gemini