Muslims and Islam took centre stage, writes Dina Ezzat It could have been Ramadan, the most celebrated Muslim month, or it could have been the agreement reached by Turkey, the Islamic but secular country, and the European Union, the profoundly Christian club. Whatever the reason, issues related to Islam -- as a culture rather than strictly a religion -- and to Muslims, mainly those living in non-Muslim countries, especially Europeans, provided material this week to reflect on. Throughout the week, commentators debated the many dimensions of the possible accession of Islamic Turkey to the Christian European Union. They also debated the impact of the growing Muslim communities in Europe on the otherwise predominantly European countries. The findings were interesting. By the account of many commentators, the Islamic nature of Turkey is unlikely to be challenged even if the country actually becomes a Muslim member of the European Union. Moreover, Muslims in Europe will still have problems integrating in European societies, even if they were born there, for a long list of reasons that starts with their names. "Deep down there is something that has not changed about both Europe and Turkey," wrote Abdullah "Ubeid Hussein in the UAE daily Al-Ittihad. "Europe, despite the adoption of secularism, democracy and progressive thinking, remains a Christian continent. Meanwhile, Turkey, despite the many changes it has undergone since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1920, has been mainly an Islamic country of 70 million Muslims." Hussein added, "despite the enthusiasm of European politicians, especially the British, to obtain for Turkey membership in the European Union, their constituencies have an issue with annexing 70 million Muslims into their neighbourhood." That said, there was recognition that the Islamic connection is not easy either to reconcile with or break away from. In another UAE daily, Al-Khaleej, Rogheid Al-Solh argued, "the Turks seem determined to overcome the cultural divide" even if they have to undergo some societal metamorphose in order to fit into the European context. But Al-Solh said, this change will not strip Turkey of its Islamic character, although it might force some Islamist political parties, including the ruling Justice and Development Party, to evolve into a secular party. In fact, as long-time commentator of the Saudi-financed and London-based Asharq Al-Awsat Amir Taheri noted, it is this Islamic identity of Turkey, among other reasons, that is encouraging a few European politicians, especially the British, to invite Turkey into the European Union. But Taheri argued, this Islamic nature should be excluded from the calculations. "Islam is not the issue... Turkey should not be perceived as a bridge between Europe and the Muslim world simply because it does not have strong ties, as such with the Muslim world, including its immediate neighbours," Taheri wrote. After all, he proposed, it might not be too far down the road before some of the current member states of the European Union find themselves with a majority Muslim population. Examining the profiles of Muslim populations in some European countries in a series of articles this week, Asharq Al-Awsat said Muslims constitute around 2.5 per cent of the population of Spain and 5.8 per cent of the population in Holland -- the two countries that were forecast by the paper to have Muslim communities up to the size of France. France, Spain, Holland, and even Serbia -- that has for centuries had a significant Muslim population -- were not much different from Turkey when it came to its problems with the European Union: integration. And in as much as Turkey is finding problems accessing the European Union because of its Islamic identity, Muslims in Europe, even if they are fully-fledged European citizens, Asharq Al-Awsat reported, tend to be denied equal citizenship rights on the basis of their Islamic religion that is widely perceived as being problematic.
