It appears that the scene which emerged from the minaret referendum in Switzerland will be debated for some time. It is necessary to state from the outset that it is “surprising” that some are surprised by the results. In which European country would the results of such a vote be any different? In any case, the perception and reflection of the minaret prohibition as a new situation in Europe is an oddity belonging only to us. Can a European country be shown that freely allows mosques with minarets? Only under very special conditions and with special permission can minarets be made. Anyone who has seen a little of Europe and has shown interest in the problems of Muslims in Europe would know how difficult it is to construct a mosque with a minaret in European cities where tens of thousands of Muslims live. As a different kind of example, the High Representation in Bosnia prohibiting the call to prayer publicly in many places, Sarajevo in particular, shows that the prohibition of minarets is not unique.

Rather than a technical issue, the problem is more related to the current understanding of the concept of being European, which the Swiss directly expressed. Contrary to the claim of every type of intellectual in Turkey, the “opposition to Islam” in Europe is not geographical; rather it is the perception of Islam as the “other” which is deeply embedded in the concept of Europeanism and which has contributed greatly to its composition. A large number of Europeans having been secularized does not mean they have fully broken their ties with religion, particularly when it comes to their views about Muslims. For example, doesn’t the German Constitutional Court’s prohibiting work places to open on Sunday a few days ago because “it is contrary to religious freedom” show what religious criteria mean when ordering the political system’s public life. The Constitutional Court, the headquarters of which is located in Karlsruhe, found the case of the church to be right and cancelled permission for work places to open on Sunday because it is a sacred day for Christians. Both the Swiss referendum and the German Constitutional Court’s explanation of its decision make it mandatory to rethink what the Europeanism concept is. Even if the definition of “us and the other” which comprises the Europeanism concept has undergone change, the “other” has remained the same. As Edward Said said, “We is a collective concept that defines Europeans in view of those who are not European. It is the idea that the European identity is superior to all the non-European people and cultures.” If this superiority has evolved from a religious one to a secular one and changed on the level of name, Islam has continued to be the “other.” In this respect, the Muslim infidels of the Holy Crusade and Islam which represents the unenlightened, barbarian, Eastern image, particularly the Ottomans, comprise the same picture in the consciousness of the European.

With the Ottomans, who determined the East, the “other” Muslims over-stepped their boundaries and entered their house. Assimilation of the “other” Muslims, blacks, Asians and emigrant workers has become a problem. It is not necessary to state that Muslims have resisted assimilation and are in a position different from the one kept alive in historical memory in regard to representing the “other.” In this situation an attempt is being made to satisfy the feelings of being European and superior by making those not assimilated into the “other.”

In respect to the relationship it formed with the “other,” the Europeanism concept’s most problematical aspect is this: the claim that European culture is universal. While the idea of Europeanism is replacing the understanding of the Christian world on the one hand, the claim of the universality of Western civilization’s taking the place of the universal church claim is a problem that cannot be overlooked today.

While the secular and progressive ideology of Western civilization has usurped the church’s place, it always secretly held a religion content. The German Constitutional Court’s showing a religious basis for their decision corresponds precisely to this deep memory. (I give this example because it is current, but different manifestations of this can be seen in every aspect of life.)

Attitudes that appear to be double standards aimed at Muslims are actually the historical and religious content of the Europeanism concept that lies deep within the appearance of secularism. The words of the famous thinker Lyotard becomes more meaningful here: European efforts to unite mean the union of feelings of enmity…

�lgili Yaz�larDüşünce, English