The surprise decision in Switzerland recently to ban the construction of any new mosque minarets has understandably unnerved a lot of people. Europeans hoping for the emergence of a more inclusive Europe and Muslim immigrant populations who have long been a part of the fabric of that Europe were particularly vocal in their condemnation of the vote. The signal sent to the Muslim masses, especially those tempted by the hateful ideology of Islamic extremism, is particularly worrisome. This will unfortunately provide more fodder for those wishing to convince ignorant Muslims that the West sees them as fundamentally “different”, that the rhetoric of peaceful coexistence based on respect is just that- empty rhetoric.
Church bells and minarets have long been two of the more visible parts of the complex relationship between Islam and Europe, since medieval times. These structures, by their imposing architecture and function, have been potent symbols of competing faiths. Throughout history Christian and Muslim rulers alike have sought to restrict their construction and use, passing laws against church bells ringing or the call to prayer emanating from minarets. In Spain, where Islam and Europe had perhaps there most intense interaction as the peninsula was divided between Christian and Muslim rulers for seven centuries, the competition for souls was particularly fierce. In 1002 A.D. the Muslim ruler Al Mansur (“The Victorious”) sacked the Christian shrine city of Santiago de Compostela. According to the sources, he made a point to take down the massive church bells of the city’s main church, forcing captured Christians to haul them 500 miles to the Muslim capital of Cordoba. They were then melted down and hung as lamps in the Great Mosque. The Christians had not forgotten when they retook Cordoba from the Muslims in 1236. King Ferdinand had the lamps carried back to Santiago on the backs of Muslims, melted down again and refashioned as church bells.
This is according to the official histories of kings and dynasties eager to burnish their legacies with great deeds and symbolic victories. The reality of Christian-Muslim relations through the ages is much more complex. In Spain, there were periods of intolerance, but there were also great periods of peaceful and fruitful coexistence. While both Christian and Muslim rulers used religion to rally the faithful to their cause, they also forged lasting alliances with their so-called infidel enemies to protect themselves from rivals of their own faith. The most famous example of this is the Christian hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, or El Cid (from the Arabic “Sayyid”- “Lord”). Refashioned by Christian historians as a hero of the faith who pushed back the Muslims and defended Spain’s Christian patrimony, in reality El Cid was a mercenary for hire who spent most of his years fighting for the Muslim cities of Zaragossa and Valencia against Christian and Muslim adversaries alike.
In Muslim Spain, Christian and Jewish minorities thrived under Islamic rule. They governed their communities by their own religious laws, rose to high office, and preferred flowery Arabic to their own languages. We know this because we have the testimonies of Jewish and Christian theologians lamenting the demise of Hebrew and Latin among their faithful in favor of the more poetic and cosmopolitan Arabic. Jews and Christians were attracted to the worlds that the Arabic language opened up for them: the science of Al Kindi, the medicine of Galen, the philosophy of Aristotle, the high-society coolness of Ziryab (Among other things, he brought deodorant and proper dining etiquette to Europe).
Today, knowledge and people flow in different directions. It is Europe and the West that are at the pinnacle of technology, quality of life, personal freedom and pop culture. It is Muslims who dream of living in Western lands and consume Western goods and culture in copious amounts, from iPods to blue jeans. Hence, Europe’s growing Muslim minorities, in Switzerland and throughout the continent, and the intensifying debate within Europe as to who belongs and what it means to be European. And its mirror image- the malaise among Muslims over the demise of Islamic civilization and what it means today to be truly “Muslim”. These twin trends, European insecurity about their immigrant classes and the Muslim identity crisis, has been exploited by Islamic extremists to gain adherents and sympathy within the larger Muslim population.
With few exceptions (Lebanon, Egypt), the Muslim world has lost its prosperous religious minorities. That is why we hear more these days about minarets than church bells. Today the politics surrounding minarets is largely a product of rich versus poor, failure versus success. The vast majority of Muslims are concerned with this world and its comforts. They are not stupid- unless you are a member of an elite class, opportunity for a better life lies in the West.
This is ultimately why increased engagement, both officially and between populations, matters. And why signals of fear and insecurity, like the Switzerland decision, set us back in the fight against extremism. On the one hand, we need to further engage with Muslim governments who have yet to unlock the ingenuity and creativity of their own populations within nation-states that are in most cases barely 50 years old. Ingenuity and creativity that are the best defense against the temptations of extremism. But perhaps more important is the people to people interaction between the Islamic and Judeo- Christian worlds that has such a long and storied history. It is this kind of day-to-day co-existence between Muslims and Europeans that builds shared values and breaks down ignorance on both sides. Muslim societies have largely forgotten their own tradition of tolerance that led to a mosaic of diverse peoples contributing to a greater prosperity. The Swiss decision only makes their memories shorter.
