European Muslims’ Dilemma And It’s Solutions

In retrospect, the Islamic civilization and the development of Western civilization has always blend with the conflicts. Since "9-11" terrorist attack, the studies of Islam became the hot spot in the academic fields of Western Sociology and International Relations. Both the academic and the ordinary people around the world cast their doubt on the Muslims:Why are they always attached to the various violence attacks? Why are they always connected to the regional conflicts? These problems not only plague political and academic circles, but also arise the general concerns. Today, with the continuous waves of Muslim immigrants coming into Europe, this continent has become the forefront of both intersection and conflicts of these two civilizations where "Rushdie Affair", "affaire des foulards" and London Terror Bombings took place one after another. Since then, the integration of European Muslims and European society has once again attracted the attention of the world.Based on the history of exchanges between Muslim and European, this thesis gives an overview on the various aspects of the current socio-economic situation and political and religious realities of Muslims in Europe, as well as their long-term impact. In the perspective of public space with comprehensive sociological, political science and history methods as analytical framework, this paper not only describes the struggle for the public space between European Muslims and secular European society, but also suggests several ways to distribute the public sphere in a more reasonable way by which the two communities can get along harmoniously. In terms of study methods, the article touches upon historical analysis by reviewing the historical facts, charts and data analysis to present the lives and developments of European Muslims and case study to explore the border of public space which European society and European Muslim are in the fight for.This thesis consists of three parts:an introduction, main body of three chapters and a conclusion. The introduction part is mainly about the origins and the value of the topic, research review both domestically and abroad which covers non-Islamic academic achievements and the self-reflection of Islamic scholars, then the public space theory, research method and basic structure of the thesis.Chapter One illustrates the historical backgrounds of Muslim emigrations to Europe, different stages of the emigrations featured by various characteristics from the end of 19th century to the present, and the continuous struggles for the public space between these two communities marked by the two civilizations. Then, with the help of the published census data and results, it demonstrates the survival situation of Muslims in Europe today. The purpose of this chapter is to show a panoramic view of the reality of the European Muslim demographically, religiously, economically and politically.Chapter Two exhibits the struggle between the two communities with the case study, taking the competition of cultural interests, economical interests and political interests as the main clue. This part also discusses the hidden causes behind the conflicts. The reason why "affaire des foulards" lasts for decades is not only due to the Muslims’cultural identity which is difficult to integrate with secular European society but also the fundamentally unequal status of the two great civilizations.Chapter Three tries to suggest the solutions of redistributing European public space through the efforts by both Muslims and secular European citizens. The former is suggested to do more self-improvement in their living strategy such as make themselves adapted to the European society as real European, and the latter should change their arrogant attitude, take steps to integrate with Muslim immigrates actively and make a more convenient social environment for them, through which both sides can be mutually beneficial and coexist harmoniously.The final part is the conclusion. This part aims to make a review of the research and make an explanation of the future study in the relevant fields. In the past, most of the scholars casted their eyes on the cultural conflicts, while few of them paid attention to the policy study of European Muslim emigration, which is the very flaw of this article. With the improving of Chinese economic status globally, China is becoming a hot target for the immigrants around the world, and the experience of integration of Muslim and secular European society should provide a helpful reference for the making of China’s future immigration policy.