Ihsanoglu: Islam not just a guest in Europe

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has said Islam is not an extrinsic addition to, but a fundamental element of European culture.

41 mln Muslims live in Europe - 09 / 10 / 2008 08:38

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has said Islam is not an extrinsic addition to, but a fundamental element of European culture.

On a recent visit to Helsinki at the invitation of Finnish President Tarja Halonen, Ihsanoglu gave a lecture titled "Islam in Europe."

Stressing that his aim in giving this lecture was to stop Islamophobia from becoming widespread in Europe, Ihsanoglu told the Cihan news agency: "We argue that Islam is among the founding elements of Europe. The Ottomans ruled for five centuries in the Balkans, and Muslim rule in Andalusia lasted eight centuries. Above all, 41 million Muslims live in Europe right now. So Islam cannot be regarded as an extrinsic element in Europe. It is one of the founding elements of the European civilization."

Stressing that European civilization was built with many contributions from Muslim culture in terms of science, philosophy and humanistic values, Ihsanoglu said, "If we can share the idea that Islam is an essential element of Europe, Europe's perception of Turkey's EU membership would change."

Ihsanoglu said there is confusion about the place of Islam in Europe.

"Islam has been in Europe for 14 centuries; it is not a foreigner in Europe," he added.

Ihsanoglu also said it was not acceptable to equate those who engage in terrorism on behalf of Islam with Islam itself, adding: "Where do they get the authorization to commit terrorist acts under the name of Islam? Nobody has such a right, either in religion or in politics."

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ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ИСЛЯМСКА КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ (ОИК)