By Salama A Salama Islamophobia -- a very particular brand of xenophobia -- has taken root in Europe. The continent was already writhing beneath the pressure of immigrants from the south when 9/11 made things worse. Since the Americans declared their war on terror, US and European officials have repeatedly made reference to "Islamo-fascism" and, indeed, to the Crusades. As a consequence ordinary Europeans have come to associate Islam with violence. With the crisis of the Danish cartoons still fresh in people's memory, the pope's recent remarks revived the vitriol. That will not be the end, though. More is to come, for the misunderstandings continue. The dialogue of cultures is getting nowhere and the tensions between Europe and foreign immigrants persist. In this mood of hysteria anything can trigger a major incident. Recently, the Berlin Opera cancelled a show of Mozart's Idomeneo just as the country prepared to hold a conference on Islamic dialogue. The German government had invited representatives of Muslim German associations to discuss the problems facing Muslim integration in German society. The conference was due to discuss the relationship between Muslims and the state, the teaching of Islam in schools, human rights, preaching in mosque and the possibility of establishing a federation of Muslim associations. The cancellation of the show shocked the public. The Deutsche Opera management said it had to cancel the show to protect the lives of the actors and the audience. What was this all about? Mozart based the piece on Greek mythology, and it deals with the conflict between man and the deities. The show contained a scene in which the king of Crete comes on stage carrying the severed heads of four religious figures: Christ, Mohamed, Buddha and Poseidon. The opera director said she had received threats from Muslim extremists. In Germany the cancellation unleashed a wave of anger against fanatic Muslims. Once again Muslims were vilified for threatening the freedom of art and expression. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the nation cannot give in to extremists, adding that fear-driven censorship was unacceptable. The reaction of the Islamic community was quick and smart. Muslim representatives said their community had nothing to do with the cancellation. They even suggested the cancellation was a gimmick meant to undermine the Islamic dialogue conference. German Muslims said they supported the freedom of art and expression and demanded the show be performed. This was the right reaction. For sometime now, freedom of expression has been used as a pretext to engage in racist measures against foreign and Muslim immigrants. This was the conclusion reached by the UN Human Rights Council. The report says Islam is still being associated with terror and that not only the security services but the European public has adopted a biased view of Islam and Muslims. The report makes a few suggestions. One is that everyone should recognise the existence of Islamophobia, along with its racist implications. Another is that laws regulating the freedom of expression should aim to scale down religious slurs. The report urges the media and schools to encourage dialogue rather than confrontation. On our part, it is time to admit that Europe has legitimate concerns concerning immigrants and radical Islam. The lack of democracy in the Arab world is not helping to bridge the gap. And we need to conduct the dialogue of cultures in a new way. So far we have over-relied on religious figures who find it easier to condemn than to understand. We need to do things differently, or else it will be the immigrants in Europe who end up paying the price. The continued confrontatio n is not in the best interest of Islam or Muslims.
