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Multiculturalism in Europe

 

Europe faces the tough challenge of forging a tolerant and representative multicultural society that reflects the chequered identities of the many people who call themselves European. Presently, this is particularly the case when it comes to its Muslim minority.

 

Season’s salaams

January 2008 – This December offers a unique opportunity for people of different faiths to celebrate one another's festivities. Read on

 

Sheikh with laughter

December 2007 – With Osama bin Laden unlikely to branch out into comedy, it’s important to give westerners a taste of Muslim humour. Read on

 

Villains of the pax

October 2007 – A controversial anti-Islam demonstration in Brussels, slated for September 11, has descended from tragedy to farce. Read on

 

Love is blind…

September 2007 – Intermarriage often gets a bad press. But you just can't beat fusion love. Read on

 

A Christian jihad?

August 2007 – Many in the West fear the threat posed by political Islam. But there is a more ominous menace closer to home. Read on

 

A song for the deaf

August 2007 – I’m sick of hearing the same old tune about how Muslims are silent in their condemnation of terrorism. Time for a song. Read on

 

A history of violence

July 2007 – British-born ‘jihadis’ have been wreaking havoc at home and abroad for generations, lured by a heady mix of idealism, romance and rebellion. Read on

 

Testing times

June 2007 – Across Europe, the real challenge when dealing with minority groups is not integration but marginalisation. Read on

 

A war on error

June 2007 – It is time to dispel the myths surrounding Muslims – namely, that we are all terrorist anti-feminist teetotallers. Read on

 

A war on error (2)

June 2007 – It is time to dispel the myths that conservative Muslims often propagate about 'the west'. Read on

 

Virgin vote at the ballot box

October 2006 – Khaled Diab gives up his electoral chastity and gets a taste of political participation. Read on

 

Dutch government limps on

July 2006 – The ruling Dutch centre-right coalition has decided to limp on to early elections in November after shooting itself in the foot with its hardline immigration policy that almost cost one of its parliamentarians – the controversial Ayaan Hirsi Ali – her Dutch nationality. Read on

 

Out but not down

May 2006 – Caught between a rock and her own hard line, the outspoken Ayaan Hirsi Ali is being stripped of her Dutch nationality and has been forced to give up her seat at the Dutch parliament following allegations of identity fraud. Read on

 

Terror in the park

May 2006 – A racially-inspired shooting spree in Antwerp which left two people dead – including a toddler – and one seriously hurt has refocused Belgian public attention on the issue of urban violence and racism. Read on

 

Belgium needs more personal social responsibility
May 2006 – The ‘silent march’ was a moving expression of popular sentiment at the tragic murder of a teenager who has become known simply as Joe. But calls for more police and ‘zero tolerance’ will not prevent a repeat of this tragedy. People need to realise that the system does not have all the answers and it is time for citizens to take on more personal social responsibility. Read on

 

Graven images and poor reflections

February 2006 – It is perplexing that a few crude cartoons can spark an international crisis overshadowing war, political oppression and economic and social injustice. It has hurt the image of Muslims and reflects poorly on their tolerance, while unmasking the uglier face of western prejudice. Read on

 

Abuse freedom and we all lose

February 2006 – It is not freedom of expression that is under threat, but the right to human dignity, argues Tom Kenis. Read on

 
Conversion is not a crime

December 2005 – Muriel Degauque has the dubious distinction of being the first white European female suicide bomber. Shocking as this is, suggestions that we have reached a dangerous turning point and that converts are brainwashed fanatics and their partners are comic-book villains are unfair to the vast majority of converts and to non-converts married to Muslims. Read on

 

Turkey and Europe must get ready to go back to the future

April 2005 – Turkey’s rich history is no bar to its EU membership bid, argue Katleen Maes and Khaled Diab. Read on

 

Islam and Europe: Clash and mash

April 2005 – Khaled Diab and Katleen Maes examine the myths driving anti-Islamic fervour in the EU. Read on

 

Home truths about the home secretary

October 2004 – David Blunkett – like his boss – is growing blind to what his party stands for. In fact, some of the home secretary’s recent pronouncements have sent a chill down Khaled Diab’s spine. Read on

 

Why anti-religious dress codes are no road to liberty

February 2004 – The French government has proposed a law that will ban Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in school. Such a ban will not help the cause of multicultural tolerance in the EU. Read on

 
Veiled intentions

January 2004 – Some prominent politicians – first in France and now in Belgium – are calling for Islamic headscarves to be banned in schools. Rather than simply guaranteeing the separation of church and state, such a ban is more likely to alienate the Muslim community – particularly women – and harm multiculturalism. Read on

 

Migrating from the margins

November 2003 – As a reflection of Belgium's multicultural reality, just under 10 percent of the country's population is foreign. While the EU component of this population has the right to vote in local elections in Belgium and in European elections, the non-EU contingent goes mostly unheard and unseen on the political radar screen. Read on

 

Somewhere over the rainbow

May 2003 – Belgium’s ‘rainbow’ coalition is coming to the end of its four-year term in office. As the country prepares to go to the polls to choose a new government, question marks surround what lies at the end of the rainbow for Belgium’s Muslim community. Read on

 

Breaking the culture barrier

May 2003 – A new commercial Franco-Arab radio station in Brussels hopes to promote inter-community harmony through music. Contact Inter aims to break down the culture barrier with a mix of the latest sounds from North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Read on

 

Murder prompts riots

December 2002 – Antwerp Arab leader arrested after unrest following “racist” killing. Read on

 

A church wedding

November 2002 – Marriage is truly in the air. With Europe’s economic union more or less consummated, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and his Convention on the Future of Europe have been drawing up the prenuptials for a prospective political union. Read on

 

Arab pride on the streets of Antwerp

November 2002 – An Arab community group has organised patrols on Antwerp streets to counter what it calls a 'manhunt' by police of Moroccan youths. Found out about what has been criticised as a 'private militia'. Read on

 

Arab panthers and Flemish lions

November 2002 – A new wave of Arab activism is taking hold in Antwerp. Khaled Diab meets its leader. Read on

 

Battle for the Arab airwaves

October 2002 – a new commercial radio station has stoked a war of words… in Arabic.   Read on

 

Leaps of faith

July 2002 – My arm hung sheepishly in mid-air and my confident smile faltered momentarily when Rita Walravens politely declined to shake my hand. Despite the fleeting sense of awkwardness and my hasty withdrawal of the offending limb, I comforted myself that I had not irreparably put my foot in it and that she bore me no ill feelings. Read on

 

Reinventing the Arab media

March 2002 – Few would have expected tiny Qatar, a sleepy gulf state once known for little more than its oil and its ancient tradition of trading, to be at the forefront of what has been dubbed as nothing less than an Arab media revolution by many and dismissed as nothing more than a sophisticated propaganda tool by others. Read on

 

Tales of the Alhambra

March 2002 – A group of young Muslims take the director’s chair to make a series of films about how perceptions of their religion have been affected by 11 September. Read on

 

Pilgrims’ progress

February 2002 – As Muslims the world over head for Mecca, Khaled Diab looks at festivities closer to home. Read on

 

Resolving meaty issues

February 2002 – Animal rights activists have welcomed the setting up of temporary abattoirs during Eid to enforce Federal and EU legislation that bans the ritual slaughter of animals outside official slaughter houses, a practice they say poses public health risks and makes the animals suffer unnecessarily. Read on

 

Moor or less Belgians

January 2002 – The second and third generation of Moroccans in Belgium are gaining a renewed pride in their mixed heritage and are becoming more assertive in expressing their political and cultural will to be recognised as full and equal players in the country’s colourful social landscape. Khaled Diab talks to some young Moroccans. Read on

 

Looking for the Ramadan spirit

November 2001 – A long way from home in Cairo, Khaled Diab sets out to discover how Ramadan is observed on the streets of Brussels. Read on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ã2006 K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website is the copyright of Khaled Diab.