Europe and Islam: No Securitization, Please!


Yeşilyurt Gündüz Z.

International Policy Analysis, vol.October 2007, pp.1-7, 2007

  • Publication Type: Article
  • Volume: October 2007
  • Publication Date: 2007
  • Journal Name: International Policy Analysis
  • Page Numbers: pp.1-7
  • TED University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims in Europe have been increasing in recent years. In public discussions and the media, Islam is portrayed as a monolithic bloc that differs totally from or is even hostile to a similarly closed “West”. Over 23 million Muslims live in Europe; if one includes Turkey the figure reaches over 90 million Muslims, making Islam the second largest religion in Europe. Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde’s securitization theory and Habermasian ideals of dialogue show the problems that arise from the “Dialogue between Peoples and Cultures in the Euro-Mediterranean Area”. The Dialogue unintentionally securitizes Islam, that is, it claims that in the absence of the Dialogue we face a dangerous future.