We, a group of native European Muslims, hereby declare the following:
1. Europeans have the right to be called to Islam and be educated on this religion without it being associated with terrorism, mass migration or hate to Europeans. They have the right to practice Islam in the context of Monotheism, the Law of God, the revitalization of most traditional values (most of which were destroyed by western Modernism and post-Modernism), the strengthening of kinship, and respect to healthy local traditions. This perception of Islam can be exemplified among Europeans by its followers who posses the classical knowledge and wisdom of Islam, and who aim to renew the foundations of European society rather than destroying them.
2. We are far from pioneers, as the presence of Islam among European peoples has a long history. The older history includes the Muwalads (native Spanish Muslims) in the Islamic Andalus, the Saqaliba (Muslims of eastern and northern European origin), Bosnia, Volga Bulgaria and Lipka (Polish and Lithuanian Tatars) and of course Ottoman Empire in which the elite were mainly of European origin. The contemporary history of Islam in Europe represents an intellectual interest in Islam in the post-Christian era of Europe, in which there are efforts to return to a living religion. This started with thinkers such as Goethe and Tolstoy who were in search of a God, and continued with individual practices such as that of Abdullah (William Henry) Quilliam and has its culmination in movements and communities of new European Muslims like Murabitun. Currently, we are faced with a new historical moment, which requires us to establish a new approach regarding the agenda of Islam among Europeans. It is our duty to define these goals. That’s why being ready to collaborate with everyone who supports the main agenda of European Muslims is important, we are willing to speak openly about the issues that others are not ready to speak about.
3. Europeans are no longer colonialists, nor are they global missioners. The euro-centric era has finished, and the aftermath has been the same for many non-Europeans and Europeans alike, as they now face the threat of the destruction of their ethnic being. Hence, we completely reject racism and cultural chauvinism not only as Muslims, but also as Europeans, who are burdened with the challenges and consequences of these societal issues. Thus, we state that European Muslims don’t have a mission to spread European culture among non-European Muslims nor in the ummah, nor across the Muslim communities living in the West. To follow one or other culture is the choice of the individual. That is reasonable also because even so called Western civilization is no more the monopoly of Europeans, as Western civilization gets more globalized. That’s why European Muslims don’t have any kind of cultural mission except for their own.
4. Just like other communities, we have a right of self-preservation. Allah created European species among another human species like Africans, South Asians, Eastern Asians, native peoples of America and many others. No one group is better or worse than another except in the fear of God. Interracial mixing is a reality of our time, same like individuals and communities with mixed backgrounds and complex identities. Migration and racial diversity has been a part of European society for a long time. However, it must be noted that Europe has always maintained its own genetic and geographical foundation that has resulted in 5,000 years of their gene pool. This gene pool in addition to the autochthonous European has palpable components from Minor and Northern Asia, which manifest themselves in varying ways in different European communities. Moreover, the genetic pool of races can be maintained despite interracial marriages up until a certain point. The racial genetic pool can be preserved even after interracial marriages if the mixed child stays within the race of either parent, or can lead to the creation of a new race if enough generations continue to engage in interracial procreation.
5. We believe that every culture has historically been formed with a specific genetic foundation or has formed its own genetic foundation. Hence, European cultures cannot impose their cultural values on non-European cultures, as everyone has their own culture with distinct values. In same time for native Europeans their culture and genetics is an essential part of their identity as a unique human species, just as it would be for any other human species, all of which are unique. Thus, if we as Europeans want to continue our existence, we have to preserve both culture and genetics. That doesn’t mean, that Europe must be “racially pure”, but means that even in multiracial Europe Europeans have the right to maintain their European identity. This means that if we wish to call Europeans to Islam and spread information on this matter, it is up to native Europeans to take on this mission. Hence, it is integral to distinguish between Muslim communities who call themselves European and determine whether such identification is based on mentality, culture or geography. We acknowledge that there are various Muslim communities who are fundamentally different from one another within European territories and believe that both European and non-European Muslim communities within the borders of Europe have a right to maintain their own identity if the individual wishes to do so. That doesn’t mean that native European Muslim communities or clans must be closed for Muslims of non-European or mixed origin, but that means that if they want to become an organic part of that identity, they need to mix with native Europeans and confer European qualities to their future offspring. We think that this is their cultural right just like the right of a European individual’s right to immerse themselves in African or another non-European community or identity.
6. We ask for support from European Muslim families, clans, communities and cultural centers. Future European Islamic leaders, teachers, experts and thinkers, as well as creators of websites, translators and publishers of literature must be produced. We call for the help of the ummah for our goals. Particularly, we call for solidarity and cooperation among European Muslims themselves, either inside the borders of nations or among communities of different peoples of European background for their own benefit.
7. We call for solidarity and cooperation between European Muslim communities in non-Muslim European nations and European Muslim nations like Bosnia. In a time of globalization and mass-migration we highlight the value of Central-Eastern Europe for Europeans in general and European Muslims in particular. That space across Adriatic, Baltic and Black seas still preserves natural European environment and is going to keep it in future. Native European Muslim communities in Bosnia and Albania, Croatia, Lipka communities in Eastern Europe have essential meaning from that point of view.
8. Among other non-European peoples, the peoples of Southern Mediterranean and West Asia (antique Roman imperial and Hellenistic space) are mostly connected with Europeans in a historic and genetic context. This makes the assimilation of some of their individuals easier, particularly for those who are more susceptible to assimilation. Furthermore, Morocco can play a special role for European Muslims due to the Western part (Al-Andalus) being a center of traditional Islamic legacy. Historically and contemporary, Turkish and Moroccan traditional Muslim communities have been the most natural allies for European Muslims in Europe. In the USA, Euro-American Muslims are interested in good relations with the Afro-American Muslim community, protecting their independent agendas whilst maintaining the protection of common interests of Muslims.
9. As European Muslims we feel we have a responsibility to the ummah and want to contribute as much as we can. We fully understand that not Europe nor other Western countries, but historical Muslim lands are the core of Islamic civilization. As Muslims who do not live in those lands, we have to support the core lands and use our rights as Western country citizens to protest against imperialist and neo-colonialist interventions impose their values on the core lands. As for refugees from the Muslim world, we as Muslims and Europeans understand that mass-migration from Islamic world to the West brings with it serious problems for both parties. That’s why even if some migration of refugees will be unavoidable; we see the best solution to the problem, as strengthening Muslim nations and encouraging cooperation between them under some kind of Islamic Union like the EU. Unlike today where Muslims are migrating to Europe, during the Ottoman Empire Europeans used to migrate to Muslim countries. Hence, we are interested in making this dynamic between the West and the Islamic world a reality again.
10. We hope to inspire European Muslims to engage in activities both for the good of Islam and that of their own. We plan on doing so through the dissemination of knowledge throughout this community, growing families and children, and restoring traditional values and relations amongst ourselves.
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