| Viewpoints |
Former Chancellor Helmut SchmidtOur interest in peace between the world religion Islam and the West is of fundamental importance."It may take a while before the full repercussions of the population explosion in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the simultaneous declining birth-rates within the nations of Europe are felt. Over the course of the last century, the number of people inhabiting the Earth has quadrupled and is set to increase six-fold by mid-2050 compared to 1900. Today we are already experiencing the effects of mass migration to Europe and North America. Yet no country in the EU - including Germany - appears to have satisfactorily resolved the urgent problem of cultural and political integration or, at the very least, formulated viable solutions for tackling it. Continuing failure to address this issue, could fuel ethno-nationalistic tensions and precipitate political conflicts of global dimensions."One fifth of humanity is of the Islamic faith."Our interest in peace between the world religion Islam and the West is of fundamental importance. One fifth of humanity is of the Islamic faith. Today, over three million Muslims live amongst us in Germany and their number is projected to rise: boosted both by migratory pressure from the Middle East and Africa and the high birth rates of migrant Muslims now settled here. Today, some 15 million Muslims reside within the EU, a further 20 million in Russia. Neither here nor there could the integration of our Muslim communities claim to have been a success. A decade has elapsed since Samuel Huntington coined his buzz phrase clash of civilisations. Some deemed his prognoses to be overly pessimistic, whilst for others they even served as the basis for a new geostrategic concept. Today a global conflict between Islam and the West has become a plausible spectre. Such a conflict could extend from Indonesia or Pakistan and Afghanistan to Algeria and Nigeria, and engulf Russia, the Balkans and major European cities. Religious motives, social revolutionary fervour and power-political objectives could coalesce to form an explosive cocktail - which could easily be detonated by some minor, accidental event on the Islamic side. Yet equally, the explosion could also be triggered by the West, the USA or Israel.The historical settlement of Muslims across Russia and on the Balkan peninsular is an irrevocable fact as are the waves of Muslim migration to Denmark, England, France, Holland and Germany. Consequently, we must carefully weigh, on a case-by-case basis, whether it really furthers our interests to participate in military interventions in Muslim states and regions: Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, the coast of Lebanon and the Horn of Africa - the list is already very long! Public recognition of the Islamic world religion is definitely in our interests.On the domestic front, sustained and robust policies are required to foster active participation of our Muslim citizens in our schools, on the labour market and in the political system. Our state, the churches and the media should embrace the Islamic religion with same respect hitherto accorded the Catholic, Evangelical and the Jewish faiths, and we should also campaign for their equal representation within the EU and on all international bodies. Furthermore, we should urge the European Council, the EU Heads of Government and the European Parliament to adopt a more open stance towards Islam. It is not the role of Germany to support the religious leader of an ethnically-based sect of Tibetan Buddhists in achieving public recognition. Yet public recognition of the Islamic world religion is definitely in our interests.At the same time, we must ensure that the phenomenon of Islamic terrorism, which is flaring up in many places across a number of states, is not misconstrued as a typical or an inherent element of Islam. The long history of Christianity is littered with examples of war crimes and terrorism, yet no one, for example, would regard the atrocities of the Inquisition or burnings at the stake as typical hallmarks of Christianity. Cowardly assassinations, murders and abductions have been a feature of the entire history of humanity, irrespective of religion. Since the Age of the Enlightenment, nation states have used the rule of law, the police and the criminal courts to prosecute and convict the perpetrators. Deploying military forces to engage in an armed conflict against Islamic terrorists without just cause can provoke anger, resentment and foment more terrorism - as President Bush Junior has experienced in Iraq. Not even in the 21st century, can the West simply eliminate terrorism - of whatever persuasion. Terrorism must be contained by implementing a whole raft of political measures, which, at the same time, do not trigger a global conflict with Islam. This would merely escalate the spiral of violence - on both sides - and serve as a recruiting sergeant for terrorist organisations. Although in recent years the prospect of such a conflict has grown ever closer, it is by no means unavoidable. Currently the political and religious leaders of Islam perceive the USA as the pre-eminent, omnipotent Western power. Admittedly, the USA does not appear to have a discernible basic stance or even a political concept vis á vis the world's over 50 Islamic states. Understanding of the Islamic Middle Eastern countries is poor among US politicians - a problem compounded by the fact that the Islamic world seems to be both geographically and historically very remote for Americans in general. Yet first and foremost, America must avoid the charge of hypocrisy when addressing the Muslim world: specifically, it should refrain from accusing a number of Middle Eastern states of being undemocratic and abusing human rights whilst, at the same time, forging pacts with Muslim dictatorships; or brushing aside criticism of its close ties to Saudi Arabia, where the same conditions prevail, by pointing to the necessity of securing oil supplies - a crucial argument within the US Congress. The European Union is bereft of a long term concept.Despite being directly impacted by it, the European Union is also bereft of a long term concept for dealing with the Islamic world - a situation, which remains potentially dangerous. The elaboration of a positive, civil, future-oriented, overall strategy for accommodating Islam - incorporating both cultural, political and economic elements - is one of the key tasks facing both Europe and Russia in the 21st century. Yet unless this is based on the principle of religious tolerance, this challenge remains insurmountable."By courtesy of Helmut Schmidt "Ausser Dienst. Eine Bilanz" Siedler Verlag, München in der Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH Erste Auflage, 2008 Seite 177 u. 183 ff. ISBN 978-3-88680-863-2 The contributions of the named authors presented in "Viewpoints" do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CIVIS Media Foundation. |
