I wanted to write my blog post about anti-Islamic sentiments in Western Europe, particularly in France and Switzerland, and if there is a possibility that this culture of Islamophobia could classify Western Europe as a “pre-genocidal” society. The term “pre genocidal” is, of course, a very tricky term to define, since you can really only call a society genocidal after the fact. However, for the purposes of this blog post, I will assume that one can look at a certain set of criteria from other societies that became genocidal and use them to try to determine a basic “pre genocidal society.”
All throughout Western Europe in the last decade or so, anti-Islamic attitudes have been on the rise. Western Europe is facing extremely difficult economic times, and it is common in these situations to look for a scapegoat, particularly one that is more obviously different from the rest of the citizens, thus Muslims are more often being portrayed as radical and dangerous in the media and the news. Some countries claim that they are passing laws to present more unified nations with more collective values, which is also a common practice that could lead to a form of genocide. And in certain countries, laws have even been passed that ban certain aspects of Islamic culture. Two countries in particular that have passed the harshest anti-Islamic policies into law are France and Switzerland. France has officially banned both the burqa and the niqab, garments worn by Muslim women to show their devotion. If French women are seen wearing these in public, they will be fined and could face possible jail time. In Switzerland, the construction of minarets, the focal points of mosques that call Muslims to prayer, was banned. I believe that these laws may be the beginning of cultural genocide. Cultural genocide can be described as the culture of a group being destroyed to such an extent that the group ceases to exist. With these laws being passed and the general Islamophobic attitude of Western Europe increasing, Muslim people are losing access to key aspects of their culture, particularly their religious traditions. If this trend continues, it is easy to see how cultural genocide against Muslims could come to pass in Western Europe.
One of the biggest worries of ‘first-world countries’ is that they will bend to the height of the ‘uncivilized’ countries of the past and present when it comes to savage things such as genocide. This post illuminates that that possibility is looming closer and may not remain a distant fear in the back of many leaders’ minds. Of course, these first-world nations (France and Switzerland) would never admit to having “pre-genocidal” tendencies, even if the proof stood right in front of them. This is an unfortunate effect of the taboo of the term genocide’.
ReplyDeleteMoving on: yes, technically the banning of the Muslim garments and architecture fits into the category of cultural genocide, but it is on a relatively small scale and the intention is not to do damage to the cultural groups. That being said, it’s noteworthy that cultural suppression is occurring in plain sight and with no explanation; it’s a dangerous stepping-stone to actual cultural genocide.
Your post brings up a very important point though: we need to pay attention to what’s going on in the current world because that’s the only way we can stop drastic or harmful actions in their tracks. I know prevention isn’t the only point of studying genocide, but it’s a pretty major one and the actions of Western Europe against Muslims and Muslim culture need to be kept an eye on since they already fit some of the criteria for cultural genocide. Also, thank you for saying “cultural genocide could come to pass” and not jumping to the trivializing stance that it is already being committed – while these bans are unfortunate and unfair, they do not deserve to be titled as a form of genocide.
I found this post quite interesting; could these countries in which genocide occurred so recently commit it in the near future? Or at least approach it? I would argue no, as I see this form of Islamic suppression as having a much more apt Western European analogy. From their arrival during the first millennium C.E. until the mid-19th century, Jews in Western Europe (and indeed the rest of Europe, parts of the Middle East, Western and Central Asia, and North Africa) faced a wide variety of legal persecution. In mediaeval Europe, Jews were often separated in their own towns, villages or quarters, required to engage in specific trades and wear certain types of clothing (or not wear certain types of clothing), Jews were kept as distinct from the surrounding Christian population as possible. The parallel I see here really centers on the restriction of religious clothing for Muslim women, the often violent anti-Islamic riots that occur occasionally and the ban on minarets, which (to me) indicate concern over assimilation, although opposite to those held in the medieval era, and a widespread concurrence with these sentiments, which were much of the basis for medieval oppression of Jews.
ReplyDeleteThe result of this Jewish suppression was not genocide (although arguably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and England might have been) but occasional pogroms and strong influences on European Jewish cultures. Restrictions on possible employment led to specialization in the commercial and financial fields, while laws governing attire influenced what is now traditional European Jewish dress. In the same way that local xenophobia and small-mindedness shaped European Jewish culture, I could see modern stigmas and restrictions placed on Muslims as leading to the eventual development of a distinct European Muslim culture. Genocide is the most extreme conclusion to a long process of oppression; other less exterminatory forms instead lead to serious influencing of oppressed cultures.