ROTARY, THE EUROPEAN CRUISE – page 25 – 1/To – 2016
Reception of refugees in Europe
Mercy and integration of Muslims in Europe
We want to build a society of equal rights and duties for citizens. In the formation of citizens, we need to reiterate that violence on behalf of religion is intolerable, to make everyone understand that they are equal. It is good to remember that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948 published by the UN has not been recognized by the Islamic states that apply Sharia law, which draws its source from the Koran and applies its principles. It follows that peaceful coexistence requires adherence to common and universal values, and respect for the principles adopted by the United Nations in school curricula. Cultural integration cannot be considered a secondary problem to that of material assistance. The two aspects must be co-presented; otherwise the risk is that refugees will falsely interpret the reception centres as places which, in exchange for the assistance provided, actually aim at proselytism. The question of dialogue between different civilisations and mentalities cannot, however, be left exclusively to volunteers.
Faced with this urgency, the institutions must also play their part. At the political level, attention is being paid to the problems arising from the increase in the flow of migrants, while little or nothing is being done for the cultural integration not only of the immigrant refugee in our soc
iety but, above all, of Muslims resident for one or more generations. An erroneous conception of the secularity of the state and of the “politically correct” leads one not to touch upon arguments that ha
ve to do with religion in the public sphere. On the contrary, the religious aspect represents for every Arab a n
atural dimension of life, it is an integral part of his own identity, whether he professes the Christian faith or belongs to the Moslem community. To deny those who come to our country from such distant cultural backgrounds minimal information about this Western culture is tantamount to promoting a one-sided insertion into our society. The Jubilee on the Mercy of God is a shared veneration, a priority step towards mutual knowledge and respect, the occasion for mutual enrichment.
The importance of action to make Muslims aware of the foundations on which European societies are founded would then be accentuated by the possibility of becoming itself the spark capable of triggering the process of opening up the watertight compartments that exist today between Europe and the Arab world, between Christians and Muslims.
It is our priority to promote in societies:
- Teach the values of civil and religious freedom without discrimination between people and peoples.
- Promote the Koranic verses that extol coexistence and exclude hatred for each other, peace between peoples.
- Eliminate all hate readings from the teachings, especially from school books.
These actions represent a strong push for concrete measures capable of smoothing out the phenomenon of religious fanaticism which is fed today by some institutional bodies. Greater vigilance in this sense seems more appropriate than ever.
Giuseppe Samir Eid
RC Milan South-East
Free web translation from the original in Italian
The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.