Debate on Muslim women in Europe hijacked by Hijab issue

BRUSSELS, (KUNA) -- The debate on the situattion of Muslim women in Europe is being dominated and hijacked by the issue of headscarf and veil and is not tackling the real problems, according to speakers at a seminar on Europes Muslim Women held here Tuesday It is the social, cultural and political discrimination that we are victims of.

That is the problem, not the veil,stressed Malika Hamidi, head of the European Muslim Network (EMN) think tank.

"We are facing a feminist and secular discourse which is targeting Muslim women in the form of a new colonialist approach," said the hijab-clad Hamidi who describes herself as an Islamic feminist.

A Muslim woman in Europe is considered to be emancipated if she takes off her headscarf, noted Hamidi.

Shada Islam from the Brussels-based think tank European Policy Centre (EPC) said the integration of Muslim women is the subject of intense debate across the European Union and within Europes Muslim community.

Discussions get especially intense when it comes to the integration of Europes Muslim women with many politicians denouncing the decision by some women to wear the headscarf or burqa, she said.

The seminar was organized by the British Council in cooperation with the EPC and EMN.

Sajjad Karim, a British Muslim Member of the European Parliament blamed both the EU and the Muslims in Europe for not doing enough to promote the integration of Muslim women in Europe.

He said the subject of Muslim women in Europe has been wrapped up in veil and headscarf issues.

Muslims in Europe have a responsibility and the EU has a responsibility that Muslims live an Islamic way of life based on European principles, said Karim.