The threat to national security throughout Europe has never been as great and imminent as it has been over the past few days. Yet, that notwithstanding, moderation and tolerance have characterised the response of host cultures as they struggle to integrate immigrant populations.
There are many problems with European multiculturalism and with home-bred racism, as recent riots have shown. However, despite terror attacks in Madrid and London and, now, Paris, the incendiary speeches of radical imams and high rates of immigrant crime in some areas, Europeans have, by and large, maintained their cool in the face of intimidation. Some view this as evidence of weakness.
We are now often hearing speeches in which it is argued that Muslims are taking over Europe and that this should be considered as a war being waged by Islam against Christendom. This may be the aim of a minority of Muslim radicals but it is not true of the majority.
Most Muslim immigrants are interested primarily in getting a decent job and securing a future for their families and not acting as front-line troops in some hypothetical war of civilizations.
Judging by recent reports from France about the number of Muslims converting to Christianity, it is pretty evident that jihad was not the first thing on their mind.
The ‘us versus them’ approach, of course, has merit in the case of a nation that menaces the West militarily, as ISIS appears to be doing. In such situations, there are instances in which war is entirely legitimate. But the same psychology should not apply to societal issues where there is a lot more room for accommodation.
The mistake we can make is to characterize the position of European secularists as weakness or even degeneracy.
Self-assertive chauvinism of the ‘my turf’ variety is hardly evidence of a global perspective. Heroic strength is not only demonstrated through tough guy acts. The determined exercise of tolerance and patience in the face of intimidation very often demonstrates courageous qualities of a higher order than a willingness to resort too quickly to reactionary blow-back tactics. We have witnessed the impasse such thinking has led to in Israel and Northern Ireland.
The use of the term ‘Christendom’ is also a misnomer. Even though the term is not synonymous with Christianity, there is little about modern Europe that is Christian per se. In fact, many European intellectuals recoil from the values that the term ‘Christendom’ represents.
Without serried ranks of crusader heroes to oppose the alleged Muslim takeover plan, a Euro war of civilization is a non-starter. But that certainly does not imply that Europe is simply there for the taking by any one party with any one agenda... Muslim or Christian, or even Jewish.
There is no argument that work needs to be done to improve integration of immigrants and from that point of view there are solid reasons why the old model of multiculturalism needs to be revamped, at a minimum. A new European identity needs to emerge that includes immigrants as equal partners.
Terror threats are very real. I believe that European multiculturalism in its present form facilitates these threats because of the above-mentioned gulf it has created between communities.
In the case of terrorist acts by the few, European nations are not exactly sitting ducks waiting to keel over. Such countries have robust legal systems and well-managed police services.
A new European identity needs to emerge that includes immigrants as equal partners
Talk of impending doom and a Muslim takeover grossly underestimates the resourcefulness and character of peoples who had survived the Nazi era and, before that, World War I. They are not exactly pushovers.
In Europe, we are seeing a more militant secularism that no longer bows to the dictates of religion.
Despite the patience that has demonstrated and the concessions made to immigrant communities in the name of tolerance, it is highly unlikely that European societies will cede control to Islam any time soon.
Although there is a serious problem on the immigration front, the commitment to secularism is its greatest hope. Those with a passionate commitment to a new societal model may not be calling upon God but they bring other qualities to the task... vibrant individualism, realism and the knowledge of a third way that transcends the age-old polarities of religious and cultural hatred.
Mark Said is a senior legal counsel.