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Islam Online - April 9, 2006
EU Imams Urge Effective Integration, Acceptance
VIENNA, April 9, 2006 – European imams exhorted Muslim minorities across the continent on Sunday, April 9, to better integration and effectively participate in all aspects of society, urging European countries to give their Muslims the opportunity to become part of society.
"Integration is no one-way street, but should be seen as a mutual process," said the final declaration of the second Conference of European Imams, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Integration, education, politics and women's rights featured on the agenda of the meeting, which brought together 300 Muslim leaders, imams and female preachers from about 40 European countries.
The three-day conference was a follow up on a meeting held in the Austrian city of Graz in 2003.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso led prominent European figures who attended the opening session.
The conference was co-sponsored by Austria, which hold the current rotating presidency of the EU.
Positive Role: The imams called on European Muslims of all ages to learn the language, the "instrument of communication," of their host country.
"Investing in early language acquisition... as well as mutual inter-cultural skills" should be encouraged, the declaration said.
The participants also urged effective participation by Muslims in political, economical, cultural, social and academic life.
"It is the principle of Islam that the Muslim in Europe be active and participate in all aspects of life," said Ahmed Al-Rawi, president of the British-based Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe.
Imam Abduljalil Sajid, president of Britain's Muslim Council for Religious and Racial Harmony, agreed.
He said imams should play a stronger role in helping their communities integrate into society.
"Imams, as teachers and preachers, have a duty to emphasize to their congregations to play a positive role ... in addressing the plagues of Europe -- hate, bigotry, racism, extremism and terrorism."
Talk to Muslims: The European imams, meanwhile, urged authorities across the continent to give their Muslims the chance to become part of society.
European authorities should be "talking with and not about Muslims," the imams concluded.
A representative from France had said Muslims in her country had adopted the language and citizenship but were still discriminated against when applying for a job.
A Sorbonne research released last year by the French Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion represent an obstacle to jobseekers.
The "Discrimination at Workplace" research said that the organization sent 325 CVs of competitive applicants, who only differ in names and origin, to find later that the opportunity for North African applicants to get a job is five times less than natives.
Writing History: Many of the participants believe the conference will be a turning point in the relation between Europe and its Muslim minorities, reported Reuters.
"Muslims in Europe are making history," said Mouddar Khouja, the representative of the organizer Islamic Religious Authority (IRA).
Burhaneddin Dag, of the Islamic Centre in Hamburg, agreed. "I'm proud that what happened here can be a model for all European countries... we wrote a piece of history."
An attack on an Islamic cemetery being built in a suburb of Vienna reminded the conference participants of the hostility Muslims meet throughout Europe.
"The graffiti shows this was an anti-Islamic attack," said Omar al-Rawi, head of integration affairs at the IRA.
The building shell of the prayer room was set on fire at the weekend. Its outside walls were smeared with graffiti saying: "Will be blown up."
A similar attack on a mosque happened after another Islam conference last November.
Beate Winkler, head of the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), told the conference on Saturday, April 8, that anti-Muslim bias is dangerously high in Europe.
"Some people stereotype all Muslims as devotedly religious and sharing a fundamentalist view of Islam," she said, warning of a vicious circle of discrimination and hostility towards Muslims from parts of the European majority. (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies)
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