Стр. 28 - V

Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
Author : A. Yashlavsky
Senior Research Associate, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Candidate of Science (Po-
litical Science)
IN THE MID-2010S, the problems related to European
Muslims intensified under pressure of the migration crisis
and terrorist acts carried out by religiously motivated ex-
tremists in some European countries. Hence a closer at-
tention to the far from simple relations between Europe
and the Islamic world and to their dimensions: demo-
graphic, migration, cultural, political, ideological, social,
economic, etc. The scope of an article inevitably narrows
down the range of the problems discussed.
AT THE TURN of the twenty-first century, many of the centuries-old relations between Europe
and the Islamic world acquired a qualitatively new character. Today, in the globalized world, Europe
is struggling with deep-cutting transformations; it is no longer associated with Christianity mainly
because of more pronounced secular trends and, practically to the same extent, because of demo-
graphic changes caused by migration. Globalization raised large-scale waves of migration out of
former colonies to former metropolitan countries. European countries, mono-ethnic or bi-ethnic
in the past, have become multi-ethnic. Waves of immigrants, either legal or illegal from Africa, Asia
and the Middle East who in search of a better life if not for themselves but for their children, in-
undated Europe, changed its ethnic, confessional and cultural image. The Muslims who found a
new home in Europe are gaining more and more weight in the current processes.
According to different forecasts, in the next few decades, the share of Muslims in Europe will be
considerably bigger due to the ageing population of France, Germany, the UK and other countries.
Today, aware of the steadily increasing weight of the Muslims communities in their countries, Eu-
ropeans have to revise the basic principles of Western civilization.
Muslim countries that have already settled in the FRG and showed no desire to integrate into the
host society.
The negative stereotypes in the minds of Europeans are created by the context in which carriers of
different cultures and religions do not achieve mutual understanding. On the other hand, the dis-
torted ideas about Islam that dominate the West are rooted in distant past; the same fully applies to
what Muslims think about the West.
Whether we like this or not, Christians, Muslims, Jews, and followers of other confessions as well
as agnostics and atheists, in short, all people living in Europe, will have to live side by side which
means that they will need a dialogue between civilizations and cultures. This requires understanding,
tolerance, mutual respect, and, very important in view of the above, ability to protect their values.
European Muslims and Their Identities