Double Standards for Muslim Schools... or just making mountains out of Molehills?

The Daily Mail reported Double standards row as Ed Balls refuses to ban smacking at mosque schools to avoid 'upsetting Muslim sensitivities

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243871/Double-standards-row-Ed-Balls-refuses-ban-smacking-mosque-schools-avoid-upsetting-Muslim-sensitivities.html#ixzz0cz5F2Bco

The ban in question affects all schools where pupils attend less than 12.5 hours a week, thus including Christian Sunday schools, and Jewish Hebrew schools. I think it's interesting the the crux of this debate has centered around Muslim madrashas, rather than being about the general welfare of students in general.


Personally, I don't think any school ought to be allowed to beat children... or physically punish children in any way. I feel the protection of children ought to be the highest concern, not protecting "sensitivities".  I find it difficult to believe that corporal punishment is such a fundamental part of any religion that banning it would create real problems. But then again, I don't know much.

In Europe Angst Grows Over Muslim Population

For the first entry in this blog, I thought the article, "In Europe Angst Grows Over Muslim Presence" by Steven Erlanger neatly and eloquently summed up my own interest in this complex topic.

Plans for the Grand Mosque of Marseilles which can hold up to 2,500 worshipers to be completed in 4 years. Rather than broadcasting the muezzin, (the call to prayer), the mosque will shine a purple light

It was published in the New York Times on January 4, 2010. I read it in Austria, as part of Der Standard, one of the few newspapers here that aren't part of Die Krone hegemony.  The article clearly crystalizes the debate evolving in Europe today: the fear which has engulfed so many European countries of identity loss, the the clash of culture currently being experienced my many cities today. 

I wonder, to what extent will it be necessary for Muslims to "integrate" into European society? And even, if mosques, such as the one planned to be built in Marseille, shine disco-like purple lights to call their congregations to prayer, will such changes be accepted by Europeans as being signs of integration? And lastly, how much "integration" can happen and still be accepted by Muslims?


Erlanger writes,

as Western Europe is plunged into a new bout of anxiety over the impact of post-colonial Muslim immigration — reeling in varying ways from the implications of a recent Swiss vote to ban minarets altogether — some scholars see a destructive dynamic, with assimilation feeding a reaction that, in turn, spawns resentment, particularly among young Muslims.

As young Muslims attempt to exert their right to freedom of relgion, and seek to define themselves, more drastic changes to Islamic traditions may not be accepted by Muslims who are proud of their cultural and religious identity. At the same time, the presence of this new identity in Europe is the subject of much controversy, from Switzerland's minaret ban, to France's ban on all religious clothing in schools and places of work. One thing is clear:

“There is an angst over identity in Europe,” he said. “There’s a feeling that Europe is becoming smaller and less important. Europe is like an old lady, who whenever she hears a noise thinks it’s a burglary.” This generalized anxiety and fear is translated into a specific one, he argues: Islam, “a box in which everyone expresses their fears.”

While researching this article, I came across a forum in which most comemntators seemed to be welcoming the idea of a multi-cultural Europe, yet there was a significant debate there as well. One poster, proudly announced his house, in the South of Spain was geographically the closest house to Algeria and had often witnessed Algerians being washed up on the shore by his house. Although he was aware of the drastic economic difference between Spain and Algeria, he seemed persuaded that the real issue was Islam.

Tell me, can I build a Christian church in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia or Nigeria ...? Can a European Christian walk with a gold cross on the neck or clothes or Christian symbols in the streets of Algeria, Egypt, Syria or Iraq? Can a Christian eat pork or drink scotch in a bar of a Muslim country? It is very easy to come illegally to Europe and when you're here ask for your religion the same rights enjoyed by Christians. Where is the reciprocity? Muslims in Europe can not ask what they deny other religions in their country of origin. 

In light of this comment, I also have to wonder, to what extent are the fears expressed by so many Europeans legitimate? To what extent is the "islamization" of Europe actually occurring? I've heard stories from relatives in Austria that Muslim women don't learn the language, and that they can't integrate because their husbands/fathers/brothers won't let them go to school. In such a case,  what right does a state have to intervene? Does it make ethical sense, given such a scenario to discourage the expression of religious clothing (like in France) as to give women a chance?


Obviously, I have to hope that many of these fears will be proven unfounded. I wish for a peaceful co-existence where all seek to be moderate and inclusive. It shouldn't be that, any side feels attacked by the presence of the other. Obviously, this new influx of Muslim immigrants will cause change, yes. But change in inevitable. Just as wars, treaties, and invasions have changed the face of Europe over the past centuries, this too will change Europe. But, despite all of the conflict, Europe has managed to survive, and a common identity has been upheld.  But how dramatic, and "damaaging" these changes are will depend on how Europe deals with these issues at hand.

Why This Blog? Why focus on European Far Right Parties?

My interest in European Far Right parties was first awakened several years ago when I was visiting my family in Austria. I think Haider's far right party, the FPÖ had just entered coalition with the Austrian government. Austria's Freedom Party, a party based on dubious ideals of "homeland" and "tradition" was widely supported by many of my family's neighbors and aquaintances- people who I did not think would vote for such an extreme party. I began to ask, why is it that this extremism has taken hold in such a well-educated, well-off society? Why was it, that the multiculturalism I so loved growing up in the United States was met with such opposition in Europe?

Around the same time, I also started hearing many complaints about the European Union that were completely opposed to what I had learned about in my classes and lectures. Whereas my academic education taught me about the EU's goals of peace and freedom, most of the things I heard from locals in Austria were negative. Rather than lauding the EU's goals of harmony, and economic power, locals complained about the Common Agricultural Policy's regulations on bananas and other issues I considered trivial. Yet, these "trivial" complaints created a substantial issue- Austria was, in many Eurobarometer surveys shown to be the most Euroskeptic nation.

  I eventually wrote an Honor's thesis at UCSD about Euroskepticism in Austria, which not only tied Haider to Austria's pessimistic view of the EU, but similar to qualms faced by many other European nations. Since then, I've seen many apparent contradictions between a a liberal Europe and many of its increasingly restrictive policies and politics.

This blog aims to educate about issues related to the growth of these far right parties,   xenophobia, migration, Europeanization, and integration. Why is it happening? Eventually, I'd like to address the larger issue of how to combat this intolerance and closed-mindedness.

 What are viable public policy options to promote peaceful, multicultural, living environments without creating intolerant reactions? To what extent is European integration possible? Does the emergence of a European Identity necessarily preclude certain groups or ideals?