Tolerance in Europe amid a history of violence
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/March 23/16
The concept of tolerance brings hope to any society that practices it. Solidifying the concept is, however, not spontaneous and requires social and political efforts. In Europe, tolerance emerged as a result of the disastrous war between the Protestants and the Catholics. It was, at the time, an antidote to the unprecedented madness witnessed in Europe’s religious wars. This is what also pushed philosophers to lecture and explain the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There are two major figures we must refer to while discussing tolerance – they are French philosopher Voltaire and English philosopher John Locke. They wrote on the subject, explained and clarified it to the extent that it is no longer possible to understand or explain tolerance without reading, understanding and digging into their meaning. In his book Treatise on Tolerance, Voltaire reprimands his Christian community and writes: “The Japanese were the most tolerant of all nations. Twelve peaceful religions were already established within their empire when the Jesuits came to add the thirteenth.
It was soon apparent, however, that these cared little for competition and proceeded to suppress the others. We know what ensued. A civil war, no less terrible than those of the Catholic League, devastated the country. The Christian religion finally drowned in its own ocean of blood.”John Locke has addressed the subject of tolerance in a direct manner, referring to the legacy of religious tolerance among Christians and voices surprise over some fanatics’ practices “The Japanese closed their empire to the rest of the world once and for all, deeming us to be no better than wild animals, like those of which the English had purged their island. Minister Colbert was keenly aware that we needed the Japanese far more than they needed us, but it was in vain that he pleaded for trade links. He found them to be utterly inflexible. And so the history of our entire continent gives proof that it is foolish either to promulgate religious intolerance or to base policy upon it.”John Locke addresses the subject of tolerance in a direct manner, referring to the legacy of religious tolerance among Christians and voices surprise over some fanatics’ practices. He writes: “That any man should think fit to cause another man – whose salvation he heartily desires – to expire in torments, and that even in an unconverted state, would, I confess, seem very strange to me, and I think, to any other also. But nobody, surely, will ever believe that such a carriage can proceed from charity, love, or goodwill.”
Derida’s deconstruction
Despite the sovereignty of tolerance as it exists in Europe today on the social level, thanks to the rule of law, the concept of tolerance there remains a matter of discussion and dialogue. French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, who is associated with the idea of deconstruction, distinguished between natural, innocent and unconditional tolerance and forgiveness, which comes in a condescending manner. He writes: “What I dream of, what I try to think as the purity of a forgiveness worthy of its name, would be a forgiveness without power, unconditional but without sovereignty.” “The most difficult task, at once necessary and apparently impossible, would be to dissociate unconditionality and sovereignty. Will that be done one day? It is not around the corner as, as is said.”In order not to assess the experiences of other nations in bloodshed, wars, violence and elimination of others, we need to remember instances of tolerance in the history of Islam during its golden age when Jews and Christians in Andalusia were respected by Muslims. They had their rights and were treated in a humane manner. Let’s recall Voltaire’s statement: “The rage that is inspired by the dogmatic spirit and the abuse of the Christian religion, wrongly conceived, has shed as much blood and led to as many disasters in Germany, England, and even Holland, as in France.”Tolerance is the mother, the future and the pillar of civilized coexistence.
Attack on Brussels marks Europe’s day of horror
Andrew J. Bowen/Al Arabiya/March 23/16
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, ISIS militants carried out two of the most horrific terrorist attacks in Belgian history. These incidents – executed by individuals likely linked with those who were involved in the 2015 November attacks in Paris – underscore the deepening challenge that extremism poses to European society’s cohesion, security, and future. Will this day be the nail in the coffin for the Schengen zone as EU leaders already grapple with the humanitarian challenges of Syria’s refugee crisis? Will this day further empower far right who try to capitalize on these challenges for their own political advancement?
It would be a mistake to meet this challenge with fear and the construction of new walls and barriers à la Trump. It would be more constructive to address this challenge to both European and global security with resilience, cooperation, and constructive policies.
Europe’s deepening challenge
While it’s not immediately clear the nationality of those involved in the attacks at Brussels’s airport and a metro station near the headquarters of the European Union, which resulted in the tragic death of over 30 people, the challenge of radicalized Europeans going to Syria to fight and return to their countries of origin to engage in terror can’t be under-estimated. As these horrible events in Paris and Brussels illustrate, the challenges posed by foreign extremist groups and domestic homegrown terrorism require more cooperation and better intelligence sharing. Efforts need to be increased to disrupt and dismantle these networks in Europe and their financing. Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s global coalition against extremism is an important step but one that needs to be followed up by more security cooperation and tangible commitments to make such a coalition effective
Border security across the EU needs to be tightened and Brussels needs to work more with regional states including Turkey, Iraq, Russia, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in helping monitor and track individuals leaving the battlefields of Syria and prosecuting them.
Equally so, despite some US Presidential candidates’ vitriolic rhetoric, the attempts to scapegoat Syrian refugees who are fleeing violence as part of this wave of extremism and violence in Europe is both unethical and irresponsible. Without a sustainable plan to secure these displaced persons’ future (with the recent agreement with Turkey an initial step), their failure to be welcomed into European states or resettled elsewhere will have long-term economic and security implications. Instead of focusing solely on these refugees as a threat to EU security, greater efforts need to be taken to counter violent extremism in these states’ societies through effective homeland security measures and education. More efforts also need to be done to prosecute those who engage in hateful rhetoric.
Global threat
While President Obama has at times downplayed the strategic threat ISIS plays to global security, the multiple events in Turkey, France, and Belgium illustrate that ISIS poses a threat beyond the Middle East and critically, to the freedom and prosperity of global society. As Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan argue in their new edition of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, ISIS is actively planning operations well beyond Syria and Iraq. While the collapse of the Syrian and Iraqi states will be a long-term challenge (regardless of whether Russia and Iran can enshrine President Assad in the future of “Syria”), the ideology of ISIS and its extra-territorial focus extends will beyond its shrinking ‘state’s borders.
In the short-term, the US and its NATO partners, in the wake of terrorist attacks in France, Turkey, and Belgium, should consider increasing military air and special forces operations to dismantle and destroy ISIS’ hold over Syrian and Iraqi territory. It would be foolish to think that ISIS will only focus their sights on Europe or the Middle East. We already have seen ISIS-inspired or coordinated plots disrupted in the United States and Russia. We have witnessed as well ISIS’ terrorist attacks in the GCC and Egypt. President Putin’s “mission accomplished” moment this month in Syria naively shrouds the fact that Russia’s original goal, eliminating ISIS, was a job Putin never really took seriously and is fine leaving left undone. The time is now for more robust cooperation on defeating ISIS alongside Syria peace talks in Geneva.
In the longer-term, ISIS’s ideology and any of its successors’ who subscribe to it will not go away once and if ISIS looses its territory. This ideology requires robust, global cooperation to counter-it and denies it opportunities to take root. Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s global coalition against extremism is an important step but one that needs to be followed up by more security cooperation and tangible commitments to make such a coalition effective.
Beyond military means, this ideology can only be truly countered by education and the deepening capacity of states to respond to socio-economic challenges. This day of horror underscored the resilience of the Belgian people and their European brothers and sisters to remain resilient and united. In this dark hour, Washington and European capitals can’t give into the fears that Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump seek to capitalize on and whip up for their own political advancement. It is the voices of cooperation, resilience, and bridge building that will bring the world together to address this extremism which hit both Brussels and Istanbul this month.
