ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

183 the emigration to Europe of young people from countries governed by laws that pri- vilege Muslim citizens over adherents of other religious beliefs, thus forming mental prejudices in young people who arrive in Europe where equal rights and non-discri- mination prevail. Citizens of the Arab world raised and educated in states where the- re is discrimination between Muslims and non-Muslims, a discrimination that legally favours Muslims, similar to our old fascist laws discriminating against Jews. To the demographic, economic and cultural gap is added the religious one. Identity, citizenship and religion. Despite the modesty of Westerners to spe- ak of religion, we must take note that reli- gion and civil status of the Mediterranean peoples are inextricably linked to the iden- tity of the person; the Arab citizen feels his religious identity takes priority over his po- litical loyalty. Despite the distancing of the main religious authorities, the disorder-ma- kers and today the head cutters in the Mid- dle East use certain verses of the Koran to justify their actions with a religious imprint. Poverty, ignorance, revenge against for- mer colonizers, and lack of integration into society: they are all ingredients to become prey to violence. Until recently, there was not this range of crossbreeding of cultures that we find today in a given territory. In fact, until the Second World War, the regions of the globe were inhabited by people from a given territory, linked by a common deno- minator, the same culture, religion, belief, habits. For example, the countries of Ara- bic language and culture were populated by people with majority Islamic beliefs, Europe and the West by Christian majorities, etc. Each one fairly uniform within itself without the drive for revolutions caused by diversi- ty, as was the case with the Armenians in Turkey. It can be said, for example, that the unifying element of the Arab populations appears to be the religious one, that is, the common Islamic religion within which some differentiations are inserted. I am not aware of Arab populations without a belief, without religion. Internet, free movement, emigration The accessibility of travel and the free movement of ideas through the internet, television, media and the like have driven many layers of the population towards Europe in search of economic improve- ments and political stability. Technologies have created proximity of very different peoples and it is not surprising that free- dom of expression, belief or opinion will always find some body that considers itself offended and justified in using vio- lence to impose its vision. And with deep regret that these retaliations are almost always directed against Western citizens or institutions, in the name of their reli- gion. On the contrary, we must note that there is no retaliation against Islamic sta- tes where the faith, freedom and opinions of non-Muslims are always discriminated against in the name of identity and reli- gious beliefs. These opposing situations must give us pause for thought, and only after we have objectively recognised the problems will we be able to reason with their solution. This was recently called for by the Egyptian President before the Azhar ulemas assembly in Cairo. In fact, the current teaching in the faculties of Islamic theology starts from a literary re- ading of the Koran, according to which the sacred text of Islam is not simply inspired but dictated by God to Mohammed "de- scended upon him from heaven". These are reflections that I offer to reason on the true nature of the challenge and what re- medies to agree upon. It is clear that the best response to extremism is to create a united international front that relies on universal standards of freedom of belief and religion as an integral part of the iden- tity of the individual.