It's true; Arabs make up a cultural and sociological asset in Europe. However, the question becomes more complex when it comes to the way others look at Arabs, and to the way Arabs look at others, or at themselves…
Like any other ethnic or cultural minority, Arabs contribute in the economic and social life of the host country. A considerable number works in the services sector and plays a key role in the “economy of immigration” (trade, import-export of goods from their countries of origin, food industry). One should visit the shopping streets of Barbès in Paris, Brabant in Brussels, or other main streets in any major city of Western Europe, to get the picture of the intensity and diversity of economic and social activities that take place there.
Around holiday seasons, when these minorities start to get ready to visit their countries of origin, one can stand aghast at the sight of hysterical shopping that breaks out all in their countries of residency, apart from the immense turmoil and traffic in all transportation means (land, sea, and air). What happens is a mere transfer of goods and ideas from Europe to the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries.
Despite the fact that these minorities are often marginalized within the European society, and sometimes confined to cultural ghettos, this economic and social activity is producing a more refined form of wealth: great-heads and executives. And we can find them today in universities, hospitals, and in business. The youth, from the second and third generations, started to openly claim their rights to participate in the political life and media. In the European Parliament for instance, it is no more unheard of to find an assistant or deputy that have Algerian or Lebanese origins. In Brussels, a dozen out of the 75 members of regional parliament and more than 35 members of the city’s 19 municipal councils are from Arabic origins. This phenomenon is gaining more importance day after day and could spread to all other countries of the European Union.
Islam and European citizenship
Yet, for Arab minorities, life is not always as velvety. Since the dreadful events of September 11, relations among different communities became factitious and tensed. Many Europeans have been hit hard by the violent and terrorist attacks and do not hesitate to consider the Arab-Muslims as a fifth column endeavoring to spread “Islamist Internationalism”.
The fear of those minorities is mostly reflecting in the work field. Many surveys in France and Belgium have shown that employers prefer not to bring on board executives from Arab or Muslim origins. In a survey organized by an anti-discrimination organization, an employee of one of the Interim agencies in Brussels admitted that some employers explicitly ask recruiting agencies not to send them names of engineers with Arab connotation, or résumés of women with a veil (hijab). Examples of racial discrimination are more perceptible when it comes to seek a job or an accommodation.
The case of Theo Van Gogh
Between November 2004 and February 2005, a film reporting the assassination of Theo Van Gogh, reflects the gap that separates today Arabs from other communities in Netherlands. This situation could unfortunately be generalized to other countries in different levels. In his film “Submission”, Theo Van Gogh directs a scenario written by a Dutch deputy from Somali origin, Iyan Hirshi Ali, illustrating, from her own point of view, the violence practiced on women in Islam. In this film, some Suras from the Koran were written on the body of a nearly naked woman, while another woman in prayer was wearing erotic veils. What came after is well-known… The nephew of the artist Van Gogh was assassinated by a young Dutch originally from Morocco, condemned today to life sentence.
In Amsterdam, discussions about this matter can be summarized as following: well known for his alignment to the Left and his ideas favoring immigration, the sociologist Paul Schiffer considers that “the red line has been already transgressed and the immigrants who do not like to respect the rules in the Dutch society, have to simply go back to their countries and obey to their own rules”. Some old retired Moroccans learning to recite the Koran were wondering what the Dutch really wanted from them. They also went to say: “do they want us to ask our girls to unveil parts of their bodies and not to have any sense of shame? No we will not do that.”
The head of the Centre for Mediterranean cooperation realized with a bit of disappointment that “Arabs in Europe are the first victims of terrorism after those who have been actually bereaved”. “Our opinions are declared illegal because we support the Palestinian cause and because we are against the war in Iraq in which Dutch soldiers participated”, he concludes. These examples feature well the complexity of the equation between both the European authorities and the elite of Arab minorities who reside in the countries of the European Union.
Noureddine Fridhi
Head of the MBC-Al Arabia-Al-Hayat Bureau, Brussels
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