The European Muslim Network - EMN is a Think Tank that gathers European Muslims intellectuals and activists throughout Europe. They aim at   fostering communication, views and expert analysis on the key issues related to the Muslim presence in Europe.
The EMN is designed to provide a space of encounter and discussion for Muslims and non-Muslims organizations, NGOs, stakeholder groups and policy makers to produce practical recommendations for action of common concerns in a multi -constituency approach.
The EMN ensures a substantial contribution through interaction with the European level and the grass roots level's Muslims organizations on the fast-moving debates regarding Islam in Europe.

We aim at being vocal and creative to play our part to

                                              "challenge the present and change the future..." .

When a (friendly) journalist recently asked what advice he can take for his fellow journalists from the Muslims community – I replied, ‘allow us to make mistakes’...(Read more)

In a recent publication from the Council of Europe, Islamophobia has been defined as: ‘a fear of, or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them. Whether it takes the shape of daily forms of racism and discrimination or more violent forms, Islamophobia is a violation of human rights and a threat to social cohesion’.[1] Islamophobia as a term first appeared in an essay by the orientalist scholar Etienne Dinet in L’Orient vu de l’Occident (1922). However the term became common parlance in defining the discrimination faced by Muslims in Western Europe only in the 1990s.[2]...(Read more)

La femme musulmane en France (et plus largement en Occident) est depuis longtemps maintenant une « question » qui soulève de nombreux débats). Si d’aucuns, au nom de la mission civilisatrice qui les habitait, ont voulu « libérer » la femme musulmane du joug de « la domination machiste et patriarcale inhérente à l’islam », de l’autre côté, des hommes, au nom de traditions et d’une compréhension de l’islam biaisée, ont tenté de confiner la femme à une dimension de sujet... (Lire la suite)

In a paper called “Changing the Present and Dreaming the Future” Prof. Tariq Ramadan (Senior Research Fellow St Anthony’s College, Oxford and at “Lokahi” Foundation, London) has rightly pointed out, that the dream of the future will be created today.

Furthermore he has identified “the ideology of fear” as one of the most determining forces of our lifetime...(Read more)

(Hussain Sheefar's speech during the EMN Public meeting in Sarajevo with Ahmet Alibasic, Malika Hamidi and Pr. Tariq Ramadan)

I visited Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina, recently to attend a conference on faith based organisations and civil actions. Organised by the Centre for Advanced Studies, qantara.de, NAHLAA and theEuropean Muslim Network in association with the International University of Sarajevo - it was a unique opportunity to share our experiences on this topic. Here is a summary of my contribution:...(Read more)

Press Release Date: 2^nd September 2009

Netherlands - Meeting for the reinstatement of Professor Tariq Ramadan

The European Muslim Network (EMN) protests strongly against the decision of Rotterdam’s local authorities to dismiss Professor Tariq Ramadan from his posts as Chair in “Identity and Citizenship” at Erasmus University and adviser on integration at the Rotterdam Municipality .

Despite the municipal authorities’ sudden claim that Professor Ramadan’s role as presenter of a programme on the Iranian TV station Press TV was “irreconcilable” with his positions, we believe that other motives lay behind the decision.

Prior to his dismissal, Professor Ramadan had been the subject of a failed attempt to remove him, on the basis of unsupported accusations of homophobia. Furthermore, the Dutch government and the municipality of Rotterdam have direct interests in Iran which were not severed even in the aftermath of the Iranian election.

Professor Ramadan’s work, both at local and international levels on interfaith and intercultural reconciliation and dialogue, has received widespread acknowledgement and praise amongst religious and community groups as well as politicians and academics of all persuasions.

EMN believes that the municipality’s decision, made without any formal warning or right of reply, flouts the freedom of thought and speech that forms part of the political and cultural fabric of this great European city. Indeed it is regrettable that the authorities of Rotterdam, a former European Capital of Culture, can sink to using practices normally associated with authoritarian regimes.

Of even greater concern than the decision to dismiss Professor Ramadan is that this has happened during an increasingly anti-Muslim and anti-migrant climate in the Netherlands where the far-right Party for Freedom finished second in the 2009 European Parliamentary Elections.

Malika Hamidi, vice president of EMN, believes that “it amounts to a trial by media, hyped by political opportunism that can only result in the demonization of any leading Muslim public figures.”

In response to this injustice, “Actiecomite Steun Tariq”, a Dutch ad hoc committee defending Professor Ramadan has petitioned figures from academic, cultural and political spheres and gathered an important momentum.

 Download file

The EMN therefore, firmly supports the organisation of a public conference on the 4^th "Actiecomite Steun Tariq”calling for the re-instatement of Professor Tariq Ramadan.

For further information about the conference or the case please contact:

EMN Vice-President Malika Hamidi - + 32 485 467 827 – www.euro-muslims.eu

“Actiecomite Steun>Tariq” - info@steuntariq.nl>+31 643 906 500

Palestine: An Appeal For a Non-Violent Global Resistance Movement
Against the Violent, Extremist Policy
of the State of Israel

The crisis in Gaza today underlines once more the horror�and the impasse�that the Palestinians face. We cannot simply wish a plague on both their houses; cannot hope for a negotiated settlement in the absence of direct, forceful outside involvement and intervention. To adopt a stance of false neutrality, to pretend to be powerless onlookers means letting events take their course; it means concluding, after every massacre, after every crisis, that the �peace process� has lead nowhere, that the situation grows more desperate with every passing day. A significant number of organizations around the world, and particularly in the West support the Palestinian cause. But these organizations are seemingly unable to agree on a common vision and strategies. In their discussions, they often confuse analysis of causes with the principles of resistance, or with the most effective methods of seeking support and the solutions to be put forward. In such circumstances, it is difficult to articulate a clear and coherent platform from which we can address the issues, engage in multi-dimensional action and build a solid united front. We must begin with a minimum program of principles we can all agree upon:

 

   1.
      The Israel-Palestine conflict is primarily a political one (even though it has a religious dimension that implies the obligation to respect religious freedom for all�Jews, Christians and Muslims�and freedom of conscience for all, irrespective of religious or non-religious persuasion.
   2.
      There is an oppressor (State of Israel) and oppressed population (the Palestinian people).
   3.
      The Palestinian resistance is, de facto, legitimate.
   4.
      The Palestinians have the right to their own state, and to full freedom within it.
   5.
      The equal dignity of the Palestinians requires full equality of rights and treatment, no matter the proposed solution.
   6.
      Palestinians expelled from their lands have a natural right of return.
   7.
      Our commitment is based on an unconditional and equal rejection of racism of any kind, be it anti-Jewish, anti-Arab, anti-Christian or anti-Muslim.
      

Based on these seven principles, we can build local, regional and national collectives and platforms. They can then determine the priorities and objectives of the local/global resistance movement. The examples of �collectives� or �coordinating committees� in England and France, and in certain regions (the United States, Europe) must now be expanded to all countries on all continents, especially considering that the ostensibly local Israel-Palestine conflict has a global impact on the political and economic realities of today�s world. These local, regional, national and international coordinating committees should pursue the following objectives:

   1. Disseminate constantly updated and relevant information on the Middle East, in the form of websites, newsletters, lectures and teach-ins, videos, books, etc.; develop and sustain a citizen�s awareness of the issues, above and beyond moments of crisis and media coverage.
   2. Determine appropriate non-violent, legal and global resistance strategies (boycotts and coordination of concrete action: demonstrations, appeals to political leaders, etc.) already developed by some organizations but lacking sufficient coordination and collaboration except in times of acute crisis.
   3. Support and mobilize the economic solidarity movement for development and reconstruction projects (infrastructures, schools, etc.).

The most recent events in Gaza and the attitude of governments East and West make it clear that their widespread passivity and hypocrisy will rule out any solution to the conflict. It is as if the State of Israel, with the support of the United States and several European governments, has created an atmosphere of international intellectual terror: no one dares utter a word, speak the truth, or denounce the unacceptable. At the same time, the people of the world are far less gullible; increasingly large numbers of citizens are refusing to be brainwashed by the media, to be reduced to impotent spectators. These are the people who must be mobilized. Our task today is to state clearly our principles, to determine the most effective methods of resistance, and to coordinate our actions. Recent national experiences prove that this process can be generalized. We call upon those organizations with years of experience, as well as new structures and individuals, to view the creation of this global movement as imperative, and to build it by setting up broader-based, more effective local chapters and regional and national coordinating committees. We must reject both divisions and political manipulation: we must, instead, establish a platform of shared principles to shed light on our shared commitment; we must undertake actions that express the determination of our global resistance. Because we cannot stand idly by while the Palestinians are being humiliated, while their rights are being trampled, while they are victimized by atrocities, we are launching the Non-Violent Global Resistance Movement. We call upon public personalities (intellectuals, artists, etc.) to join the Movement; we appeal to activists and ordinary citizens around the world, to organizations committed to the defense of individual rights and dignity; we summon to our cause all those who refuse to tolerate the silent complicity of governments East and West, while in Palestine civilians are being slaughtered, or relegated to the new Bantustans that the Occupied Territories have become under Israel�s policy of colonization and apartheid.

 Our only hope for success is a broad-based international mobilization.

Sign this Appeal, make it be known, be informed and keep people around you informed and aware. Join the already existing organisations, collectives and plateforms or help creating new ones wherever you are. Multiply information activities and civil and political resistance around the world.

 It will be possible very soon to sign the Appeal online

 First Signatories


Karen Amstrong (UK), Moazzam Beg (UK), Tariq Ramadan (UK), Michael Hudson (USA), Tariq Modood (UK), Michael Warschawski (JERUSALEM), Jean-Claude Meyer (France), Fareed Elshayyal (UK), Syed Faiyazuddin Ahmad (UK), Jeremy Henzell-Thomas (UK), Wilfried Mourad Hoffman (Germany), Roger Abdul Wahhab Boase (UK), Ahmad Abuljobain (UK), Iftikhar H. Malik (UK), Sergio Yahni (Jerusalem), Lea Tsemel (Jerusalem), Nassar Ibrahim (Beit Sahour), Ahmad Jaradat (Hebron), Harfiyah Haleem (UK), Fran�oise Duthu (France), Umar Chapra (Pakistan/Saudi Arabia), Tahir Abbas (UK), Charles Butterworth (US), Jocelyne Cesari (USA-France), Istishhad Mousa (Canada), Yahya Birt (UK), M Nasir (canada),Dr.Mario Liguori Presidente I.T.I. Istituto Tributario Italiano Centro Studi di diritto e tecnica tributaria (Italia), Tarik Ramdani (France), Remi maliz (France), Nadia BITTAME (France), Jeanne-Marie El Mejjad Marrakech (Maroc), Sadeekah Saban - CT (South Africa), Homera Ansari (India), Zineb RABI ANDALOUSSI (France), Shaheryar Akbar (Pakistan-USA)

ORGANIZATIONS :

European Muslim Network, Pr�sence musulmane Montr�al