"The State Should Take Care of Its Muslims"

The USA has long suspected the Saudi-Arabian "World Assembly of Muslim Youth" of supporting terrorism. In an interview with Peter Philipp, however, the organization's former planning director seems quite open-minded

Especially since 9/11, the "World Assembly of Muslim Youth" (WAMY) has come under the suspicion of fostering and financing extremist and terrorist activities; after all, the director of WAMY in the USA is a cousin of Osama Bin Laden.

With headquarters in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the organization is active all over the world – primarily in the context of humanitarian projects and in training and offering support to Muslim youth.

WAMY repudiates the US allegations, along with speculation that its work is intended to abet the worldwide advance of the archconservative Wahabi branch of Islam.

Muslims should integrate

On the contrary, claims Dr. Hamid Al-Shaygi, the organization's former planning director: particularly in Europe, Islam will obviously take on different forms than it has in Saudi-Arabia or other parts of the world:

"I think this will be possible as soon as Muslim society tries to integrate itself into the local community. Youth must be organized and provided with the needed support. Young people have to adapt to local conditions and the local lifestyle, but without losing their identity."

But how far can and should this "preservation of identity" go? And where can and should Muslims make concessions to their cultural surroundings, which have been shaped by a different history, culture and religion?

Asked when Muslims should be allowed to do things that are alien to their own culture and religion, Al-Shaygi reacts pragmatically:

"When these things are part of everyday life – for example taking out a mortgage to buy a house. Or when a woman decides whether or not to cover her face. Or even when it comes to using the word "jihad" and others. These things are of course different – according to the local society, as part of living in Europe. We want Muslim communities to establish their own society, with their own identity – no matter where they are. It depends on where they live. In Germany, for example, they would be German Muslims."

Demands on the state

Al-Shaygi thinks the state should do more for the Muslim minority and offer its own Muslims services to help them feel at home in society. Only then can Islam really become part of the respective society:

"If the Germans would set up an Islamic entity to teach people about Islam, like we want them to, and if they would take care of Muslims living there - as German Muslims or French or British Muslims, if they would help them out in their daily lives, then the Muslims would not have to turn to Saudi-Arabia for support and financing for their projects, for their mosques and schools. They could then rely on local support. This is very important for European governments: that they take care of their own people …"

In religious matters as well, the European nations should help their Muslim citizens and meet them halfway. Religious authorities are needed in Europe, for example, who know about local conditions and about the needs of Muslims in their country.

"Let us have our own Mufti in Germany, who understands what it's like to live there," requests Al-Shaygi. "He will then be able to make decisions according to conditions there. Someone from Saudi-Arabia who has never set foot outside that country knows very little about life in Germany. That's why we must - and I do believe it's a 'must' and a task for the European community – set up fatwa centers in Europe - for Muslim Europe. We also need a college for educating teachers who are both Europeans and Muslims, and who understand the life in their country and can convey the message better than someone who – let's say – studied at 'Al-Azhar' University in Egypt, or in Saudi-Arabia or somewhere else."

Respect for Muslims

When the objection is raised that the state is not responsible for such tasks in Europe, Al-Shaygi reacts with understanding for the situation, but still pleads for some "start-up help" for the relatively young Muslim community:

"Yes, I understand that. Especially when one lives in a secular society, the state has nothing to do with religion and it should not support one specific religion over others. But the Muslim community in Germany, for example, is not as well established as other religions – Christianity or Judaism for instance. The Muslim community there is new – in the sense that it doesn't have a long history. If we look at the churches – for example the Catholic Church – it has a history, it has its own institutions, churches, schools, etc. The Muslims don't have these things."

Al-Shaygi also notes that the state should show respect for the special feelings and sensibilities of Muslims. Even if they are in the minority.

"The minority does not try to force its convictions on anyone," he explains. "The attitude of Muslims as a minority in Europe is that they don't want to compel others to follow their rules. They don't want to change the schools or the educational system. Or the economic system. They wouldn't dream of it. But they do say: Don't force a culture on us that is alien to our way of life. Yes, I am a member of society, I will abide by the rules, but in certain points – where it is not against the law – I don't want my daughter or son to do that. People have to understand this: if we really want to integrate and assimilate into society, then we need not only tolerance, but also, in my opinion, 'strategic planning'."

The state must therefore, through planning, facilitate future coexistence with its Muslim citizens. And in this way the state can contribute much more than do the many attempts at a "dialogue between cultures":

"The way I see it, it's more of a political decision than a dialogue between faiths. The dialogue between faiths, religions and cultures - yes – it will certainly open up new routes toward understanding, a better understanding of the different religions and cultures: I understand why you do what you do, and why I do what I do. And that will help us work together in those areas in which we agree."

Peter Philipp

The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) is a Saudi-Arabian nongovernmental organization based in Riyadh and registered with the United Nations. It funds the education and further training of Muslim youth, always in connection with instruction in the teachings of Islam.

To what extent the WAMY is actually an NGO is doubtful. The president of the WAMY, Sheikh Saleh al-Sheikh, is the Saudi Minister for Islamic Affairs.

Translation from German: Jennifer Taylor-Gaida