exploring muslim identities in europe & north america

Five years ago bombings and riots fuelled anxiety that Europe's Muslims were on the verge of mass radicalisation. Those predictions have not been borne out. Jason Burke in Paris and Ian Traynor in Brussels  The Observer , Sunday 26 July 2009 Muslim women go shopping in Marseille. Photograph: Michel Gangne/AFP/Getty Images A district of derelict warehouses, red-brick terraces, and vibrant street life on the canals near the centre of Brussels, Molenbeek was once known as Belgium's "Little Manchester". These days it is better known as "Little Morocco" since the population is overwhelmingly Muslim and of North African origin. By day, the scene is one of children kicking balls on busy streets, of very fast, very small cars with very large sound systems. By night, the cafes and tea houses are no strangers to drug-dealers and mafia from the Maghreb. For the politically active extreme right, and the anti-Islam...

Tariq Ramadan's piece in the Guardian raises important issues that far exceed the debate on Islam and Muslims in Europe. His remarks raise issues about the quality of western democracies, the process of agenda setting and the ability of right wing populist parties to diffuse their values and issues without necessarily winning elections. What is needed more than ever today is an effective resistance to the antidemocratic and racist onslought of the populist extreme right. Denying them the right to define who is an insider and who is an outsider and engagement instead of complacency. Spyros Sofos   By refusing to debate with extreme rightwing parties, we have let their populist policies win the day guardian.co.uk , Tuesday 24 February 2009 10.00 GMT I have been criticised in recent years for agreeing to debate with representatives of extreme rightwing political parties: in France, when I confronted Je...