Straw asks European leaders to learn more about Islam

Straw asks European leaders to learn more about Islam
By Anasudhin Azeez

30 March 2006


LONDON - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has asked European
governments to learn more about Islam and "protect
the rights of every citizen irrespective of their faith and creed."


Addressing an award ceremony organised by the Muslim News in the
capital, Straw said European governments have to
provide a space in which the rights and diversity of people of all
faiths are protected.


The foreign secretary also said a peaceful co-existence of faith and
modernity is essential for the future of Europe
and the growing tendency to attack religion and religious people will
lead to anachronism. He has also challenged the
secular credentials of the Western governments.


"It is wrong to assume that 'the West', including Europe, is
essentially secular in nature," said Straw. "Here in the
UK, in the last census 70 per cent of people identified themselves as
being Christian. In the US the figure is even
higher and as many as two-thirds claim to go to Church every week.
Religion is entwined into the political structures
too. England has a State church. It's a similar story across Europe. In
Italy, for example, the teaching of the Roman
Catholic religion is assured in the public schools of every order and
grade except for universities. Denmark and Greece
both have established churches - the former Evangelical Lutheran, the
latter Orthodox."


"Even in France, where the division of church from state is most
thorough, the public purse helps pay for the upkeep
of some religious buildings, most Christian and Jewish, built before
1905. And, of course, many of our basic principles
of common law here in the UK and the civil systems of jurisprudence
throughout Europe have been strongly influenced by
the Christian ethics and traditions of the vast majority of the
population. It would be extraordinary if this were not
so."


"My point is this: the story of Europe is not a simple, linear one of
secular values steadily pushing out and eroding
religious ones. Rather the European experience is one of an
accommodation between faith and modernity. And it is the
future of Europe too."


Straw said the reason for singling out of Islam as a target of attack
might be due to its reputation as a new European
religion.


"There have been Muslim communities in Europe for centuries," said
Straw. "But it is true that in recent decades those
communities have grown in size and that Islam is now the fastest
growing religion here. Another reason might be the
feeling that many people seem to have that Muslims are in some way more
religious than followers of other faiths. Again,
I think it is probably undeniable that for most of the Muslims whom I
know their faith is more obviously apparent in
their daily actions and rituals than it is in the daily lives of the
majority of people in Britain."


Straw also condemned the decision of some European newspapers to
reprint the controversial Danish cartoons by claiming
the right to freedom of expression.


"I said at the time that the cartoons were reprinted in Europe -
though not here in the United Kingdom - that doing so
was needlessly insensitive and disrespectful," said Straw. "The right
to freedom of expression is a broad one and
something which this country has long held dear. It was the focus of
our human rights work during our recent Presidency
of the European Union. But the existence of such a right does not mean
that it is right - morally right, politically
right, socially right - to exercise that freedom without regard to the
feelings of others."


"A large number of Muslims in this country were upset by those
cartoons being reprinted across Europe and at their
deeply held beliefs being insulted. They expressed their hurt and
outrage but did so in a way which epitomised the
learned, peaceful religion of Islam. In doing so they were not being
'unreasonable' or 'un-European'. They were not
threatening anyone's values."


The foreign secretary also praised the contributions of Muslims to
British society especially for bolstering economy,
invigorating education, sport and culture.


He presented awards to Mustapha Shafayat, the first England batsman
to score a double-century in an under-19 test
cricket match against India, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Channel
Four newsreader Jon Snow. While the mayor bagged
the award for building dialogue between the West and the Muslim world
and raising awareness about issues affecting the
Muslim community, Snow won it for his in-depth coverage of the Islamic
world.


http://www.khaleejtimes.com/

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