Learning to look at Europe

The 20th century was a harsh century and communication between civilizations was tragically limited and even paralyzed. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the struggle to seize the energy-rich resources in the Middle East fomented instability and chaos that was not due to the choices of local people. The problem in Palestine caused numerous wars and still continues to generate tragedy.

The September 11 attacks were the most terrifying reflection of radicalism in the West. That radicalism has been fed by the chaos created by unjust order, bloodshed and the collapsed social, economic and cultural life in the Middle East. Instead of resolving the problem, the 2003 Iraq invasion, which was justified under false pretenses, and the intervention in Afghanistan led to other complications such as the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). An atmosphere in which civil politics could breathe was never achieved in the Middle East and Africa, and violence remained the only method.

When looked at from a Middle Eastern perspective, the West seems responsible for this sordid picture. Both in the colonial period and during and after the Cold War, the approach of Western countries and the U.N. toward these countries was horribly decadent. The creation of and forms of hegemony, and the double standards in the language of politics and media contradicted the values touted by Western civilization.

However, categorizing the West in such a way is also a mistake. When looked at from the Middle East, the European or American public and European political will are considered equal. However, this is always a mistaken point of view, and also more problematic today in Europe since representative democracy is in crisis there.

In Europe, the atomization of individuals decreases participation rates in elections in each cycle. This situation forms a serious gap between public demands and the priorities and political choices of political will. The picture emerging from the administration of Europe is attributed to the whole of Europe, which is not accurate.

It is wrong to consider Europe and the U.S. only as an Islamophobic and hegemonic unity. The wide demonstrations against massacres in Gaza in Western countries and the 1.5 million people marching for peace after the Paris massacre are proof of it. As organizations like al-Qaida or ISIS might emerge in the Middle East, the appearance of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) and people like Anders Breiviks in the West do not represent the whole.

There are masses of people with common sense who both curse the attack on Charlie Hebdo and beleive that this magazine actually exploited freedom of expression by going as far as being racist. Consequently, if we categorize Europe and the U.S., we would actually undermine ourselves as people living in the Middle East, or neighboring the Middle Eastern world.

Racism and the inclination for security policies are general problems all over the world. We can only solve racism and other fundamental structural problems that create violence with a universal approach and cooperation. In a globalized world, the power of civil society has increased more than ever before. With global organization, there is hardly any democratic result that cannot be obtained. So, in order not to undermine this power, avoiding categorizations must be the primary concern for all people around the world.

In this sense, the approach of French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was a significant chance at the administrative level of Europe. Their stance must set a positive turning point in Europe since imposing pressure on European Muslims with strict security policies would mean that radical symptoms such as PEGIDA could become mainstream at an administrative level. This would not only threaten Muslims, but also endanger the liberties of all Europeans. European civilization is confronted with a serious risk now. Hollande and Merkel are seemingly aware of it.

It is possible to form a better world and a fairer sharing system. Those claiming that it is only an impossible dream are deluded.