Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Muslims Are the Jews of the 21st Century

After the 9/11 Attacks, Muslims are facing a serious crisis in the West and in Europe in particular. Switzerland's ban on new minarets is an example of many decisions that are not in favor of Islam. France has prevented Muslim women from wearing the hijab in public institutions and the Prophet was ridiculized in a Danish cartoon. Why all these attacks on Islam and why now?

The Europeans -of course not all of them- are fearing from Eurabia: the state in which Europe becomes Arabized and Islamized. Bernard Lewis said that in 25 years Europe will be predominantly inhabited by Muslims. The whole world has adopted the Western style of life so why this scare? The immigrants from Muslim countries and their descendents can change the European identity and universalize it but they represent an important brainpower in the age of fierce economic and scientific competition. Also, according to the Arab Labor Organization, 450 thousand Arabic engineers, physicians and researchers had immigrated to the developed world in the last decade. It's a scientific exodus. The state in Europe is not that bleak as they are "exploiting" an army of experts, a brain trust of hundreds of thousands of people. As Europeans are fearing from the Islamization of Europe, they are trying to devoice the Muslims, their citizens! The minaret represents the voice of the muezzin, they are silencing that voice not for religious reasons but for political and cultural ones. If Europe follows this intolerant course, Arabian Gulf countries will be more liberal than the European ones. If you walk in Dubai, you will see women wearing the burqa and others wearing the miniskirt.

We can understand the fears from the Muslim immigrants but those citizens have contributed a lot to the European progress. Europe is betraying its ideals; tolerance and human rights are pillars of its societies.

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