MUSLIM
IDENTITY IN EUROPE
By: Mughzi Abdillah
By: Mughzi Abdillah
There is strong pressure today on Muslims living in European countries.
The wave of immigration which started after the Second World War brought number
of Muslims refuges to west European countries. Some of them face the difficulty of regular
practice of Islamic rules, the trouble of being part of minority often labeled
as foreign, different, if not Barbarian, fundamentalist, and fanatic. Even if
they try to hold on this permanent pressure, the situation influences their
thoughts and actions; suggests their consciousness in order to protect
themselves from non-Islamic environment and finally determine their identity in
contrast with western culture. On the
other hand, alternatively some of them forget their origin and religion or try
to erase their identity to fuse themselves in society and thus become one of
theirs.
In both cases, we have one notice that Muslims do not define their
Islamic identity by their selves, from inside. It is true not only for those
who has an extremist attitude, but also great majority of Muslims who has
difficulties in merely saying who are we. Why should it be so? Is there
any inherent difficulty in defining Muslims vis-à-vis Western
civilization? Is this the result of modern or European context? Each of this
assumption carries part of truth.
Before being means of protection, however, Islam is an affirmative Faith
which carries within itself a global understanding of creation, life, death and
humanity (Tariq Ramadan; 2010). This
understanding should be basic of Islamic rule of thinking and behavior. In
order to understand the Islamic identity, firstly, we must know the global
vision of Islamic faith and the consequences of diverse field of human life. Moreover,
we have to understand exactly the essential principle of Islamic rules and make
them understandable in the light of context within European society. This is the
way to contextualize Islamic teaching in European context.
Todays, the increasingly accessibility of the media, including satellite
television, the internet and others, contribute to fragmentation of the
traditional structure of religious authority. They serve as a vehicle to
diffuse the concepts of individual and society, freedom and morality. On the
other hand, many of the emerging of new voices and leaders of movement emerging
in public sphere of the contemporary of Muslim world claim to interpret or
inspired by basic religious text and idea. Unfortunately, many of them protect themselves
from the loss of their loss tradition, interpret religious text textually and
legitimate their thought as an absolute truth. In the manner of media, this religious
argument and practice fostered the emergence of public sphere, and it has taken
place in some countries.
Mass media plays an important role in contributing to fragmentation of the
public opinion. Some cases related to violence correlating with the name of
Islam, such as September 11 attacks, Charlie Hebdo shooting, and Terror in
Paris, have had a tremendous effect on people’s view of Islam in Europe and
given rise to the negative perception which are so widespread. Moreover, the
reporting of mass media on the crisis, violence and killings in Middle East
assumed as the image of Islamic countries has engendered a climate of fear. “Islamophobia”
emerged in public sphere as the European society’s fear of Islamic movement. They assumed Islam as a terrify religion, so
most of them presumed that the presence of Muslims immigrant to their countries
is the potential threat to their culture, social and political live. Therefor,
todays, European Muslims have a double burden both to seek their identity and
to solve Islamophobia issue.
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