Europe's Fault Lines

Europe appears to be going through a major crisis and has become increasingly polarised over economic challenges, immigration, settlement of refugees, terrorism, the appeal of far-right parties and political instability. This polarisation has emerged in the context of financial crises, harsh austerity policies, declining living standards and increasing movement of migrants from across the Mediterranean and Africa. This has converged with growing discontent as people demonstrate an increasing disillusionment with the status quo and decrease of the political centre-ground. A central tension has been the systemic mainstreaming of racism and Islamophobia which has resulted in the demonisation of Muslims, banishment of the burka and niqab in many public places in Austria, Belgium, France, Netherlands and resistance to the building of mosques. Europe’s media and political elite appear to have an existential fear of Islam and are petrified of the demographic growth of Muslims which, they think, might eventually replace its ‘indigenous peoples’ and impose Shari[ah laws – a strange irony given the continued expansion of American and European geostrategic, military hegemony that helps maintain political and economic power over Muslim majority states.