What is the West’s Problem with Islam?
Author Christopher Caldwell takes on wrenching cultural and ‘civilational’ issues
By Bruce T. Murray
Author, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective
More than a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, it’s easy to forget slogans like “the war on terror,” the “clash of civilizations” and jihad.
Author Christopher Caldwell reminded a Los Angeles audience of these dim thoughts-of-the-not-too-distant-past in his lecture, “What is the West’s Problem with Islam?”
Caldwell, who is the author of Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West, posed the big “civilizational” questions: Is Islam compatible with Western society – Europe in particular? Will Muslim immigrants and their children assimilate into European culture, or will they remain a distinct and “adversarial” culture within the heart of Western Civilization?
Naturally, Caldwell did not offer simple “yes” or “no” answers to these questions, but beckoned his audience into his more than 400 pages of observations on Islam in Europe.
Caldwell granted that it is, indeed, a distinct possibility that Islam and Europe are incompatible; and a dire and violent future lies ahead for both the Continent and Britain. Supporting this view is renowned Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis, who predicts that Europe will be absorbed into the Arabic West to become part of the Maghreb. But Muslims can and do integrate into European society, Caldwell said; and they even offer credible alternatives to some of Europe’s social ills.
Caldwell described the numerous areas where Islam comes into conflict with European society in day-to-day life – gender-related issues primary among them. The Islamic head scarf, arranged marriages, the practice of female circumcision/genital mutilation among east African immigrants, and differing views of the overall role of women in society – these are all cultural flashpoints.
The hijab, in particular, has become a lightening rod in the culture clash. In 2004, France banned the wearing of religious symbols in public schools. Some German states prohibit public school teachers from wearing headscarves. Oftentimes, these laws are written to apply generally to all religious garb, but they are obviously aimed at Islamic practices, Caldwell noted. This puts European lawmakers in the tortured position of pretending to be neutral, while in reality they are singling out Islamic culture for discrimination.
Over the centuries, Europe has evolved from being the cradle of Christian civilization to what Caldwell describes as a “post-Christian” or “post-religious” society. Europe is no longer defined by the church in Rome or even the Protestant reformers of the North. Instead, Europeans define themselves by nationality, language and common secular values.
Feminism is a defining facet of modern European society, Caldwell said. Leaders as diverse as French President Jacques Chirac and Islamic-critic – the former Dutch parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali – enunciate a similar feminist vision.
Short of feminism, “sexual autonomy” is the prevailing European principle. This means women are allowed choose their own partners, wear – or not wear – the clothing of their choice, and follow their own destinies. Many Europeans feel these hard-won rights are threatened by Islam.
On the other hand, Islam presents some valid counterpoints. Caldwell said a Muslim in Holland might point to decadent Amsterdam, where prostitution and sexual exploitation are ubiquitous. “How is requiring a woman wearing a cloth over her head worse than allowing women to sell their bodies for sex?” a Dutch Muslim could credibly ask.
The valid cultural criticisms that Muslims present compounds the threat many Europeans feel; while others embrace the alternative. Conversion to Islam by “native” Europeans is a small, but well-publicized trend.
During the Q&A session, a dreadlocked man – who identified himself with an Arabic name – pointed out that Europe has centuries of contact and familiarity with Islam, going back to the medieval Caliphate and Islamic Spain. Therefore, Islam is really not foreign to Europe at all, the man said.
In early medieval times, Muslims came to Europe as conquerors, scholars and traders, but not as immigrants. Mass immigration from the Islamic world to Europe is a modern phenomenon that began after World War II, Caldwell said. The situation is both the legacy of European colonialism and the shortage of labor in Europe in earlier decades.
Comparing the immigration experience in Europe to America – where the overwhelming majority of immigrants come from Mexico and Latin America – Americans have it easy, Caldwell said. Cultural differences between Anglo Americans and Latinos are minor compared to the “clash” between Muslims and Europeans.
So, one could leave Caldwell’s lecture at least with a little uplifting Schadenfreude: Times might be tough, but at least someone else has it worse.
Further reading
The West and the Rest
Niall Ferguson Ferguson posits that there were six “killer apps” that allowed the West to overtake its competition in the rest of the world. The West harnessed science, property rights, consumerism, medicine, and its work ethic. But now the Rest have downloaded these apps, while the West is slacking in its application skills.
Test of American tolerance
The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective, includes a discussion of Muslims in America and a comparison of the American immigration experience to Europe’s.
Caldwell: Europe loses ‘clash’
In his book, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, Christopher Caldwell argues the 'clash' between Western civilization and the Muslim world has already been lost in Europe. "A relatively weak, self-doubting Europe, he argues, has allowed mass immigration from a fundamentally alien, basically antagonistic culture on such a scale that the continent's future is no longer its to decide," writes Tim Rutten in a review in the Los Angeles Times.
Mass Migration: A Worldwide Phenomenon
A primer with Bruce Murray and Dean Yang, assistant professor of public policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan: “World income distribution is vastly uneven: A relatively small number of people live in rich nations, while the vast majority of the world population lives in poverty. There is an amazing lack of distribution in the middle,” Yang said.
The Economics of Immigration
A primer with Bruce Murray and Judy Gans, director of the University of Arizona’s Immigration Program at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy: “Does immigration help or harm the U.S. economy? Does it help or harm American workers? On a deeper level, immigration raises fundamental questions about American society: What does it mean to be American? Who is ‘us’ and who is ‘them?’”
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