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Navid Kermani
Who is We? Germany and its Muslims
Does diversity also imply the appearance of a minaret across a city's skyline?
"Is it liberal to permit female Muslim teachers to wear a head scarf? Does secularity imply that the state treat all religions equally? Does diversity also imply the appearance of a minaret across a city's skyline? Can a Muslim country join the European Union? A Europe, of which Islam is, potentially at least, a member, is predicated on a very different concept than a Europe defined by its Christian or Judeo-Christian roots. And consequently, by its differentiation from Islam. Disputes, which once only exercised the minds of historians, have now become issues of heated public debate. Is the Arab philosophy of the Muslims and the Jews an integral constituent of the European tradition of the Enlightenment? Is, therefore, European philosophy, scholasticism and literature, not also founded upon the Islamic scholars, who paved the way for Modernity? Do Islamic Spain and the Ottoman Empire form part of European history or has their representation been delegated to Middle Eastern academics? Given the demographic composition of our society, the answer to this question - even in philosophical-historical discourse - carries serious implications for the future.
One can with equal ease gather sufficient reports to confirm the negative stereotypical images
Clearly, the intellectual battle lines are being drawn in some sections of society. The coverage of Islam in some parts of the media has long since assumed the character of a campaign, and been subject to much analysis by academics, not least, by virtue of its conspicuous imagery: masked men wielding machine guns, throngs of fully-veiled womenfolk, rear views of headscarves in German schoolyards, contorted angry faces, prayer-goers captured as they lower their foreheads to the ground so that their backsides are grinning at the camera. And to illustrate the inherent violent nature of Islam, the typical articles, programmes and books quote the same verses of the Koran on the use of violence - devoid of their crucial historical or textual context. Selectively they cherry pick from history the massacres, the discrimination and the wars of conquest, which, quite naturally, have occurred since the foundation of Islam. And already the history of Islam resembles a veritable cabinet of horrors. Reversing the situation exposes just how bankrupt such mechanisms are: Colonialism, crusades, genocide against America's Indians, the Inquisition and Jesus' Great Commission, Chechen, Iraq, Sabra and Shatila, Palestine, Srebrenica and the Christian propaganda of the Serbs, the biblical legitimisation for Apartheid, the Holocaust, two World Wars, and, as a more recent variation on a theme, the Ivory Coast or the protests against mosques in Europe. Spiced up with a few choice quotes on the Holy Wars from the Bible, Bush and Berlusconi, and entrusted to interpretation by earlier America-haters, and already one has gathered sufficient proof to convince those idiots in the Islamic world of Christianity's intrinsic aggressivity. The same sentiments are fuelling the diverse Internet sites which compile daily lists of where Muslims have once again committed acts of violence, proven their stupidity or humiliated themselves. And, as Islamic websites also clearly demonstrate, one can with equal ease gather sufficient reports from across the world to confirm the negative stereotypical images of Western individuals, groups or states - ranging from US corporations in the Middle East, child pornography to arson attacks on asylum hostels or mosques. These reports may, in themselves, all be true, yet in their totality become a fabrication.
There is hardly a country in the world where minorities are granted full equal rights
Even the standard best-sellers on Islam tend to highlight incidents of Muslim families beset by acute social problems, whilst failing to cite empirical data presenting such cases in actual relation to the total number of Muslims. Consequently, the reader gains the impression that honour killings, forced marriages and violence are the rule in Muslim families, with civilised secular Muslims forming the exception. This is as bizarre as a study on right-wing extremism in east Germany conveying the impression that all east Germans are right-wing extremists; or an optician concluding that everyone suffers from eye complaints. Similar fallacies can be generated by compiling lists of where Muslims are disadvantaged - either throughout the world or specifically in Germany. Certainly such cases do exist: Families, who, by virtue of their Arabic names, are refused accommodation or women wearing headscarves being spat at on the street. Closer scrutiny would probably reveal similar incidents taking place on a daily basis. But to conclude from these observations that Muslims are being persecuted, or even to draw analogies to the persecution of the Jews in the Third Reich, as occasionally happens, is utterly grotesque. There is hardly a country in the world where cultural or religious minorities are granted full equal rights. But in comparison to most other countries, and particularly to Islamic states, minorities in Europe - including Muslims - enjoy a high degree of freedom and emancipation. This does not mean that one should resign oneself to discrimination. Merely that - even as a Muslim - one should maintain a sense of perspective and occasionally acknowledge the advantages of our Western societies. Yes, Islam is subject to negative stereotyping. But Muslims should feel disconcerted by the fact that there is an Islam, which appears all too ready to confirm these stereotypes."
By courtesy of
Navid Kermani
Wer ist wir? Deutschland und seine Muslime.
Verlag C.H. Beck oHG
München, 2009
Seite 36-40
Dr. Navid Kermani, Orientalist and author. Studied Islamic Studies, Philosophy, and Theater in Cologne, Cairo, and Bonn. 1998 Doctorate in Bonn. 2000-2002 Long-Term Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Institute for Advanced Study. In 2005 post-doctoral degree. 2005-2007 director and curator for extraordinary events at the Schauspiel Köln (city theatre of Cologne). Since 2006 Member of the German Islam Conference, since 2007 member of the Deutschen Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (German Academy for Language and Poetry). 2008 fellowship of the Villa Massimo in Rome. Since 2008 Permanent Fellow at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of the Cultures of the World) in Berlin. Numerous publications and awards.
The contributions of the named authors presented in "Viewpoints" do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CIVIS Media Foundation.
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