Participants at a seminar hosted by Qatar Foundation call for a Citizenship Pact in Support of Muslims in the West

European and American Governments continue to clamp down on Muslims

Dr. Tlili: ‘Media Guides containing basic information on Muslim Communities around the world must be made available to journalists’

Iman Nassar
Al-Raya
Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Sound measures are needed to integrate Muslims in [non-Muslim] societies while preserving their religious identity.

During a seminar held yesterday, Qatar Foundation discussed a report on providing support to Muslims in the West. Present at the meeting were Dr. Mustapha Tlili, Founder and Director, New York University Center for Dialogues, and Lina Abduljawad, a student at the College of International Affairs of Georgetown University, Qatar. Ms. Abduljawad was also Qatar Foundation's representative to a conference held in Salzburg last year on ‘Muslim Youth and Women in the West: Source of Concern or Source of Hope?’ organized by the Center for Dialogues.

During the discussions, Dr. Tlili presented his views on current issues related to Muslim communities in the West. He highlighted the relationship between these communities and the governments and political representatives. He also recalled the prevailing sense of alienation and isolation among many Muslims in the West, a feeling exacerbated by the negative impact of Western mass media that continued to portray Muslims through a stereotypical lens, and by the distortions of globalization.

Dr. Tlili referred to the complex issues of Muslims in the West which included among other things the burden of historic memory, the repercussions of globalization, and the simplistic portrayal by the media of issues that are of importance to Muslim communities. These perceptions are often ‘instrumentalized for gains by politicians’.

During the Salzburg conference, Dr. Tlili felt that it was imperative to construct a new ‘citizenship pact’ that would factor in pluralism and diversity when the conditions for Muslim integration into Western societies are defined. He was of the view that rethinking the obligations of the state to its citizens and the obligations of the citizens to the state would lead to a better future for all.

Dr. Tlili shared with the Doha seminar participants many of the recommendations advanced by the Salzburg conference, which were ultimately adopted as a work plan for ease of implementation. Participants discussed the tendency by Western media to deliberately characterize Islamic groups (whether in West or in the Islamic World) along widespread pre-conceived negative lines. This contributes to the proliferation of misconceptions that adversely affect the relations of these Muslims with other communities. National media associations were invited to train media professionals and groom them so as to enable them to understand the issues at hand and therefore be more reasonable when they write about Islamic groups. Non governmental media organizations were also called upon to organize workshops in order to abort official attempts to clamp down on the freedom of the press. While national governments in the European Union member states and the West in general must neither organize nor sponsor these workshops, they should support and encourage them.

Dr. Tlili called for the preparation of media guides that can provide journalists and other interested professionals with basic information and statistics about Islamic groups around the world. Media kits could include fact sheets or detailed academic studies. They should be easily and readily accessible to school teachers, public figures and local authorities. He spoke about the need to exchange best practices, field studies and success stories on integration, security and religion related matters. Participants agreed that these practices constitute a good way to address these questions. In order to encourage this exchange, the participants suggested the following:

The Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-Us-The West must facilitate interaction among governments in Europe, North America, the NGO community and other social institutions. It should compile a catalog of best practices focusing on in-depth experiences and grassroots efforts, citing examples of the difficulties that the Muslim communities have faced. The Center must also organize meetings between Muslim youth and seasoned experienced elders who can demonstrate to the young Muslim generation that Muslims in Europe and North America can be integrated into their new societies and achieve success while preserving their Islamic identity. Given that this effort is a work in progress, the Center should convene follow-up meetings for conference participants to assess the progress made in general, and identify the success stories in each country. The conference also concluded that governmental and social organizations should encourage dialogue among Muslim and non-Muslim communities supported by high level authorities. Muslim associations, governmental and non-governmental organizations must engage prominent Muslim and non-Muslim figures, and successful individuals in sports, entertainment, politics and business in activities that aim at promoting a positive image of Muslim communities.

The Salzburg conference report also presented excerpts from the statement of Heinz Schaden, mayor of Salzburg to the Conference. The mayor noted that Salzburg is the optimal venue for a conference like this one because the city has the largest number of non-European born residents in the European Union. He informed participants that Islam is the second largest religion in the city schools.

Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs also addressed the Salzburg conference and discussed the issue of how people of different social, cultural and economic backgrounds can build mutual confidence in order to live harmoniously with one another. She stressed that this is not a ‘soft’ issue as it is often viewed by decision makers because it is one that has direct implications for security and the well being of our societies. She also stressed that pluralism, both ethnic and cultural is the hallmark of today's Europe.

Lina Abduljawad the student participant in the seminar sponsored by the Qatar Foundation said she is very pleased to be attending Georgetown University. She added that she participated in many programs, and that the University offers an English Language Program to teach English to students whose mother tongue is not English.

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