The future of Europe and Islam

"European pride or European self-consciousness depend on the rejection of European history and European civilization! We want nothing to do with the Christian roots and we absolutely want to be perfectly welcoming to Islam. 

"....It was very clear that not only was its massively Islamic character (even before Erdogan) not an obstacle but a sort of motive, a reason to bring the Turkey into the EU. It would finally have been the definitive proof that Europe had detached itself and freed itself from its Christian dependence."

Pierre Manent in the French monthly, Causeur, last month. He is a classical liberal.

"So what is the point of Europe today? I tell my children that the EU is there to prevent us from fighting one another again, and their reply is blunt: "Of course we are not going to fight." Europe's moral purpose today is an existential question that all Europeans must consider.

"For me the answer is to be found in Turkey. Europe with Turkey as a member would naturally be a more dynamic economy. Turkey is a regional energy hub. It has clout and respect in its own region with formidable fighting forces. And, above all, Turkey is now a role model for other Islamic societies striving to accommodate democracy, civil liberties, the rule of law, an open economy, pluralism, and religion.

"As an EU member, Turkey would add a new dimension of massive historic importance. Europeans would show that we could embrace an Islamic democracy and build a strong bridge between Europe and western Asia.

"That, in turn, would create a new European identity and narrative, a new reason for the EU to exist in this century, a way of rejecting the divisive politics of old. I hope that by the time I take up my pen again, we will be on our way to this destination. If not, then many of us will find it increasingly difficult to see Europe as anything more than a glorified customs union with political ambitions that are far too big for its boots."

Chris Patten, British Conservative politician, in the last article he published before becoming Chairman of the BBC, April 13, 2011.

"The problem is not whether the majority of Europeans is Islamic, but rather which Islam-- sharia Islam or Euro-Islam--is to dominate in Europe."

Professor Bassam Tibi, Syrian-German Muslim, Professor Emeritus of International Relations, University of Goettingen, in Welt am Sonntag, 2004. 

“Current trends show that Europe will have a Muslim majority by the end of the twenty-first century at the latest . . . . Europe will be part of the Arab West - the Maghreb.”

 Professor Bernard Lewis, the historian of the Middle East, in 2004.