Having lived in New York for more than a decade, working with the United Nations, I have had the chance to examine closely the American model of cultural integration and understanding at work.

Outward manifestations of cultural diversity and integration are displayed in many parts of this huge metropolitan city, a rainbow in which difference and harmony are merged. Mosques, churches, synagogues, Buddhist temples and other places of worship are to be found within walking distances from each other. Veiled women and scantily-clad women walk side by side.

The New York panorama is so rich with oriental, European, Hispanic, African and Middle Eastern aspects of language, dress, food and mannerisms freely manifested everywhere. Despite all these differences in ethnic backgrounds, all these people feel they are a part of America and that the US Constitution is the greatest guardian of their rights of citizenship, in a country that upholds the rule of law.

In fact, this feeling of being a citizen is the cornerstone in the success of any modern secular State aspiring to achieve greater cultural understanding, integration and harmony among its citizens.

When the tragedy of 9/11 occurred, it was not as much an aggression on US sovereignty as it was an aggression on the ideals that made the very fabric of America. It was soon realised that the more the US corroded its ideals, the more ‘victorious’ extremists will feel. It was necessary to protect all American citizens against such crimes, including the sizeable American Muslim community, without jeopardising the basic liberties enshrined in the Constitution.

There were tensions, trespasses, suspicions and even bigotry rekindled among a few people who argued for a less tolerant model and harboured racial prejudices (the same happened, though to a lesser extent, after the recent horrible and senseless Boston explosions).

Luckily for all of us, however, the American model has great immunity to all such upheavals. The acts of a few pathological elements can never shake the citadel of the American Constitution and the achievements of decades of struggle since the American civil war.

The great founders of this country who gave it the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, together with those brave souls who led the march of civil liberties, such as Martin Luther King, made this country immune to such shocks and calamities. No matter what cultural and social tensions and grievances may exist (and there are indeed quite a few), the model is resilient enough to emerge intact, if not stronger.

Other successful models of cultural integration and understanding are found in Europe, Canada and Australia.

The European model seems, however, to face more challenges than its, say, American counterpart. Europe, now united in the European Union, had its own evolutionary process through centuries of wars, revolutions, colonialism and internal turmoil. It had to liberate itself from the legacy of the crusades, colonialism and the scourge of totalitarianism.

We all should act in full respect of our status as citizens

Modern secular Europe fosters the same ideals as America does and cultural pluralism is now seen in many parts of Europe. However, the proximity of Europe to Africa and the Middle East makes it more vulnerable to waves of immigrants (legal and illegal) seeking opportunities for better life upon its soil.

This geographical factor, coupled with the fact that Europe is demographically denser and has less space than the USA and Canada, create more interracial friction and, at times, less tolerance of diversity, than on the other side of the Atlantic.

The rise of extremism and Jihadist tendencies among a small number of Muslim youth, brainwashed by fundamentalist indoctrination, exacerbate Europe’s problems and undermine cultural integration, understanding and coexistence based on the spirit of citizenship in a secular democratic society.

Nonetheless, one must admit that, despite the revival among rightist movements in Europe of feelings of xenophobia and bigotry, the European model has also shown resilience and viability.

There can be, however, no room for complacency neither in Europe nor in the USA, or elsewhere. We all have a stake in the promotion of greater cultural understanding in order to safeguard the fruits of centuries of enlightenment that gave birth to modernism, rule of law and a healthy secularism.

Muslim and Western scholars should join efforts in the promotion of these ideals, particularly among the youth, in order to curb extremism and fundamentalism under any ideological guise. We all should act in full respect of our status as citizens, whether of our original or adopted countries, upholding law and order and all the basic freedoms, especially in the practice of belief.

It should be clearly understood that there is no room in a modern democracy for any form of theocratic or any other authoritarian government.

These should become universal values inculcated through education and awareness-raising programmes.

It would be really worthwhile, in my view, for the EU to invest in more centres and public institutions dedicated to the promotion of greater intercultural understanding and integration.

Such centres can be established with the cooperation of interested parties in the Muslim world, Africa, as well as other regions.

The basic message that they should all preach and propagate is the need to hold peace, rule of law, tolerance, respect for cultural diversity and harnessing religion as a force for spiritual guidance and moral elevation of the human individual as universal values.

Malta, I believe, can serve an important role in this respect by hosting one of such centres, thus truly living to its reputation as a gateway to cultures in the Mediterranean.

Saadun Suayeh is a former Ambassador of Libya to Malta.