“ Europe Reconsiders Its Relations with the Islamic World by Appointing Special Envoys ”

Madrid’s and Stockholm’s Ambassadors to the Muslim World to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: The Palestinian Question is a Core Issue.

Asharq Al-Awsat, May 17, 2007

By Mina Al–Oraibi

Five years after the events of September 11 in New York and the discussions that ensued among political and media circles on relations between Western countries and the Islamic world, many European states have become determined to combat extremism. The March 2004 Madrid attacks and the July 2005 London attacks prompted Europe to focus on cells of extremists in European societies and on ways to prevent Europe’s Moslem youth from getting involved with armed militant movements. Many European states are reconsidering their relations with the Islamic world in an attempt to restore balance to these relations, and to veer away from the security overhang that defined this relationship. Both Spain and Sweden are among the first countries to seek to develop relations with the Islamic world and to steer away from exclusive security concerns in light of the special history that links the two countries to the Middle East region. The Spanish Foreign Ministry entrusted one of its brightest ambassadors, Jose Maria Ferre De La Pena, former Spanish Consul General in (occupied) Jerusalem with the task of engaging the Islamic world. The Swedish Foreign Ministry entrusted Mr. Mathias Mossberg, a seasoned diplomat who served as its Ambassador to Jordan and Morocco with evaluating Sweden’s relations with the Islamic world.

The two ambassadors met with a select group of European and American officials in a conference on “Muslim Youth and Women in the West: Source of Concern or Source of Hope?” organized by New York University Center for Dialogues: The Islamic World–US–The West in Salzburg, which is expected to conclude its discussions of issues related to Muslims in Western States today.

Ambassador De La Pena who has been recently appointed Special Ambassador for relations with Islamic Communities and Organizations last September told Al–Sharq Al–Awsat: “European Capitals have recently established posts like mine because they were convinced of the need to view relations with the Islamic world from a new perspective”.

It must be recalled here that La Pena has a direct communication line with the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, a fact that attests to the importance that the Spanish government attaches to this issue. Spain will be organizing a conference on “Islamophobia” on the 9th and 10th of October, 2007, and on ways to combat this phenomenon in Europe, in yet another proof of Spain’s efforts to address the state of affairs of Muslims in the light of political and security developments in various parts of the world.

Mossberg told Al–Sharq Al–Awsat that “recent events, particularly the ones that erupted over the controversial Danish Cartoons made it extremely important to refocus the dialogue between Europeans and Muslims. Mossberg who assumed his functions as special Ambassador ten months ago went on further to say:” The last decade witnessed an extensive debate on dialogue. The time for deliberations is over. We must move on from discussions to actions." He explained that he is expected to assess the European experience in this field, and pointed to “the need for Europeans to cooperate and coordinate actions with the United States” on how to deal with the Islamic World and "expand efforts to engage wider circles of stakeholders and involve the young generation of Muslim men and women". That was the main reason for his participation in the Salzburg Conference that continued to work in closed workshops yesterday.

Ambassador De La Pena emphasized the need to avoid ignoring the impact of political events in the Middle East on relations with Muslims in Europe and with predominantly Muslim countries. He said: “"Every Muslim I met spoke about the Palestinian Question, in addition to the need for us to learn about each other”. He noted that his past work experience in (occupied) Jerusalem enables him to “sympathize with Muslims particularly when they are prevented from praying in their mosques in Jerusalem”. He further went on to say that Spain is considering cooperating with Sweden and possibly other Scandinavian countries to revive the peace process that was launched in Oslo and the Barcelona Process.

Ambassador Mathias Mossberg underscored “the centrality of the Palestinian question to all countries, even countries like Sweden that are geographically distant from the Middle East. This question is dear to our hearts. It will continue to preoccupy us and to have an impact on our efforts until we become truly convinced of the need to find a solution to it”. He went on to say: “Dialogue between Western countries and Muslims cannot be launched in a vacuum. We are duty bound to address core issues, and the Palestinian Question is one of them”. “The time has now come for Europe and the Muslim World to seriously assess their relationship, and lay a new foundation for this relationship by viewing it from a narrower perspective. For this reason, the Conference we are currently attending is of extreme importance because it considers the question of Muslim youth and women who can be the medium that carries our voices and theirs to the rest of the Muslim world.”

Neither Sweden nor Spain is alone in establishing dedicated posts to liaise with Islamic communities and the Islamic world. Both Germany and the United Kingdom have departments in their Foreign Ministries in charge of coordinating affairs with the Islamic World. Italy and the Netherlands are thinking of establishing similar bureaus to undertake these functions, while Austria has entrusted the Director of its Middle Eastern Division and International Development Affairs with this task.

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