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...

Yet another instance of selective concerns on the part of one of Britain's MPs. Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant has expressed reservations about a scheme supported by the city's Muslims to build a mosque and create a Muslim burial ground even before an application reached the planning department of the local authority. Mr Fabricant warned against a development which, in his opinion, would not be in-keeping with the character of the city. While he acknowledges that  it is for the Council to make its own planning decisions, his own view is 'that domes and minarets are not appropriate in a heritage City like Lichfield'. Commenting on the possibility of an amplified system of calling the faithful toprayers, Mr Fabricant said “I do not think it right that those not of the Muslim faith should be subjected to calls to prayer against their will. Tolerance works both ways and one religion should not seek to impose itself on those of another or no religion.” It is alarming to...

A few days ago, the Sun carried a story based around remarks made on Premier Christian Radio by Alison Ruoff, an evangelical member of the Church of England's General Synod, in which she called for British Muslims to be prevented from building any more mosques in the UK. "No more mosques in the UK. We are constantly building new mosques, which are paid for by the money that comes from oil states. We have only in this country as far as we know, 3.5 to four million Muslims. There are enough mosques for Muslims in this country, they don't need any more. We don't need to have sharia law which would come with more mosques imposed upon our nation, if we don't watch out, that would happen. "If we want to become an Islamic state, this is the way to go. You build a mosque and then what happens? You have Muslim people moving into that area, all the shops will then become Islamic, all the housing will then become Islamic and as the Bishop of Rochester has so wisely poi...

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...