…THE MOOR MUST GO?

Today, more than 3 per cent of the world's population lives away from the homeland. Although no-one can provide precise data because there is illegal migration which is almost incalculable (according to various sources there are from 5 to 7 million illegal migrants in Europe), some 200 million people live outside their countries of origin. This process is never interrupted, the intensity of people flows crossing the borders is growing not only because of labor migration, but also due to internal displacement caused by political instability, conflict and natural disasters.

In Western Europe, the process of mass immigration was caused by the rapid development of the economy in the 1950s. A significant part of cheap labor flowed into Europe from the Muslim world. This was not a spontaneous process. A significant factor was that in the first half of the "civilized" century the "powers that be" such as France and the UK had colonies with a predominantly Muslim population. After World War II, they, concerned about their economic recovery, opened the borders to immigrants from their former colonies. In the early 1960s Germany too decided to hire the services of "guest workers", concluding a special agreement with Turkey in 1961. Subsequently, the workers were joined by their families, political immigrants and students educated in Europe. Over time, the host governments introduced gradual regulation of these flows by developing a variety of legal acts. By late 1970s the economic factor was partially put on the backburner, but the need for migrants remains in some areas to this day as educated Europeans consider some jobs undervalued. It is quite natural that after the economic factors were eliminated, the social aspects of adaptation and integration of migrants into host societies, the problems of relationships between migrants and the indigenous population gained political, social and cultural importance. For European society which has always sought to preserve its identity, the development of an effective migration policy is one of the most important conditions for stability in Europe.

However, in addition to economic there are other reasons for which most European countries do not seal their borders to immigrants and refugees who, sometimes at great personal risk, reach the "safe haven" in different ways. I am talking about equally important human rights set out in international treaties such as the Geneva Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. It is these documents that deter most European countries from complete closure of the "openings" which erode their national cultures. It is thanks to the principle of human rights that migration into Europe continued after the post-war labor market was saturated. For some time there were no particular deviations in the direction of discrimination in this field, but after the 11 September attacks in the USA the tightening of anti-terrorist policies of states inevitably began to affect the interests of both the newly arrived migrants and the already established diasporas. And this was inevitable because human rights issues in the hierarchy of priorities of public policy pale into insignificance in comparison with the need to confront the threat of terrorism. In April 2009, during a Geneva conference on racism, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expressed deep concern over the deepening of discrimination against refugees and migrants in industrialized countries, the exacerbation of racist attitudes in society and xenophobia.

A significant part of migration flows still originates in the Muslim world and settles in the EU. They belong to a different religion, are generally more religious and culturally different, which, of course, become a serious problem for host countries over time. The influx of migrants also changes the demographic structure of the West, because the increase of the Muslim population is much higher than among non-Muslims. According to various predictions, as early as in the third quarter of this century the Muslim population of the European Union will form a majority.

Islam is becoming an internal factor of European life to be reckoned with in all segments of society. According to the UN, the Muslim community of the EU numbers more than 20 million people.

It should be noted that there are two basic models of relationships with immigrants in Europe. One is a French model of assimilation whereby immigrants must fully accept the culture of the majority, and the other is a British model of multiculturalism, in which immigrants have the right to preserve their culture but respect the law. There was also a now defunct German model of "guest workers", which assumed that most immigrants would leave the country in the future.

Time has shown that none of these models has helped to overcome the symptoms of a dangerous split which has become discernible in the relations between the majority population and the Muslim communities of the West (especially the EU). This is largely a manifestation of the contradictions between them. Gone are the days when immigrants were seen as a clear benefit in economic recovery. Islamophobic trends and moods have become widespread in Europe in recent years. Of course, this was largely aided by terrorist attacks and the spread of political Islam. This is especially noticeable in periods of historical and economic upheaval.

Whereas many political parties of the West tried to use the Muslim Diaspora, which has evolved into an influential social and political force, as their potential electorate, the events of 11 September 2001 in the United States and the subsequent terrorist attacks in Europe proper became a kind of a call to action for the many right-wing and racist political parties who started using anti-Islamic rhetoric to achieve their goals. Against the background of a severe economic crisis, migrants, especially from Muslim countries, and the problems related to them have become an effective instrument of political struggle for power.

The events of recent years show that the attitude towards migrants in Europe is deteriorating not only in terms of public sentiments, but also in the legal plane. The dangerous stereotyping in views on immigrants in the media and public opinion eventually translates into laws and decisions. Switzerland, for instance, has conducted a referendum which resulted in banning the construction of minarets in the country. In Finland, a populist and anti-immigrant party "True Finns" became one of the leaders in the parliamentary elections. Danish authorities have decided to restore the customs border with Germany and Sweden, which is a clearly anti-migration measure. France's National Assembly has approved a law on immigration, which drastically tightens access to people from third world countries and adopts the concept of the so-called "selective" immigration.

Even more sophisticated tricks have been used against the Muslims in recent years. The anti-Muslim rhetoric does not contain any mention of race and skin color, but it attempts to appeal to the Muslim holy scriptures and find the passages in them which show that Islam is a religion of evil.

Whereas at amateur level this process takes such ugly forms as insulting religious feelings of Muslims with the notorious cartoons or movies, at a "professional" level the statement by Angela Merkel herself is quite indicative. She said: "In the early 1960s, our country has invited foreign workers to Germany and now they live here. For some time we were deceiving ourselves, saying to ourselves that 'they will not stay, sometime they will leave', but they did not. And, of course, multiculturalism was our approach, we thought we would live together and appreciate each other. This approach has failed, absolutely failed." Or let's recall the words of British Prime Minister David Cameron about the need for switching to a "muscular liberalism". We can add to this the adoption of laws in various countries of Europe on the wearing of Muslim attributes, the construction of mosques, which only toughen the stance opposing party. It is no coincidence that a group of experts led by former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer draws attention, in a report, to the "growing intolerance towards immigrants and Muslims throughout Europe". It was noted that Europeans are increasingly perceiving Islam as a threat because they think that "Islam is not compatible with the modern life of Europeans". The report describes discrimination against Muslims in Europe as "a serious problem in the field of human rights", pointing out that such prejudices "in conjunction with racist attitudes" are directed against immigrants from Turkey and Arab countries. "Muslims from these countries are discriminated against in the labor market and the education system of a number of European countries. There are reports that they are treated with prejudice by law enforcement officers who arrange incessant identity checks and searches", the report says.