It is a well-known fact that Europe is a place where education and culture are valued and respected, perhaps more than in any other country. The diversity of ancient civilizations which occupied Europe generated numerous beliefs and customs which are all crammed, to this day, into twenty-seven countries, each one of them being able to boast about its own traditions and values. This cultural diversity should bring along tolerance and interest, but what happens when being different is synonymous to being dangerous?

Perhaps Europeans are not open-minded enough, in spite of the distinctions between countries and the people inhabiting it. One of the main causes could be the fact that the set of moral values is more or less shared online or through radio or television, thus the means of communication ultimately end up influencing us and telling us how to feel about different matters.

The finest example for this situation could be the presence of Muslims in Europe. They were more or less tolerated and accepted in Europe before 9/11. However, after those unfortunate events they started being ignored, hated and even forced to go back to their country. The masses were apprehensive and cautious of their presence, immediately categorizing Muslims as fanatics or as dangerous people. Withal, that is not accurate: not all Muslims are Arab and not all Arabs are terrorists or fanatics. The press manipulated the situation and ended up judging a whole country based on the actions of a meager number of individuals. The published materials did not bother explaining that the reason why Arabs and Muslims get intertwined frequently is the fact that the Arab region is the cradle of religion. It is where most religions had begun to sprout, which includes Christianity and Islam. Yet, it must be noted that an Arab citizen can be of any religious order like: Jewish, Islam and Christianity. We should try not to be stereotypical or think of Arabs as Muslims and Muslims only.

Another reason of international turmoil is the ban of hijabs in France. Hijabs are the veils which cover the face of Muslims. Their purpose is to halt the rivers of prejudice which come with revealing our physical appearance. Ironically, they help create misconceptions and enmity, all on behalf of women wanting to be judged based on their thoughts and actions and not on their level of beauty or attractiveness. The general public tends to pity these particular women and surmise that they are being oppressed in one way or another. Not one of them fancies the idea, which is also at the base of the use of the hijab, that they enjoy wearing it, that it gives them a certain sense of freedom. Do we not constantly complain about the way society sexualizes men and women alike? Do we not wish for our actions to be the base of people’s opinions of us? Why does France see this right as a mean of decaying normalcy? Why can we not embrace novelty and the changes it brings? Is losing the veil worth losing self-respect? These questions may or may not remain unanswered. Nonetheless, the future of Muslims in Europe is anything but bleak.

A recent study has shown that the population of the EU will experience growth due to immigration. This is a particularly sensitive subject for most EU countries because they fear that their people will not have enough jobs, whilst immigrants will be able to get hired. They are also concerned because immigrants do not have strong bonds which would keep them in place for long periods of time, unlike citizens who were born and raised in these countries. This academic work also pointed out that Muslim will have higher birth rates, to the point that one out of five Europeans will be Muslim. Tension has risen as a result of this study, particularly because the masses cannot envision the future of Europe as partly Muslim. This is caused by the scattered moderate Muslims currently living in Europe. At the present, by virtue of low numbers of Muslims, there has not been any crucial talk regarding the adjustment of laws regarding marriage, inheritance or divorce. Although it will be difficult, the Governments will eventually have to face this problem head on and decide whether or not religion is important enough to change the laws of a country where the majority of the people are not Muslim. Also, in the future, matters such as supplying the EU countries with traditional Muslim foods, the disassociation of the Muslims from Saudi-Arabia and terrorism, moreover, the need to separate Islamic principles from their cultures of origins and anchor them in the cultural reality of Western Europe will be discussed, agreed upon and finally put into action.

Despite the existence of organizations such as UNESCO which has the purpose of achieving social cohesion and peace, being different sometimes attracts negativity. We hear talk about the good things being different brings and that stereotypes should be broken, but are we not frowning upon change? Do we not relish in the safety routine delivers? Why is it that we are perfectly able to adapt to new technology and inanimate objects, yet we feel the need to reject people based on a fixed and permanent set of moral values?

I strongly believe that our generation and the generations after ours will be able to handle this situation properly and realize that discrimination is not the proper reaction for uniqueness. I hope we will be able to surpass this moment of doubt and trepidation and join forces in hopes of creating a better place for both us and the generations following ours, a place where a person will be cogitated on based on personal achievements, thoughts and words, a new Europe where the power lies in the hands of the people, where dreams can be achieved and where we can exhibit our unique traits without fearing exclusion. For that, we should look more often into our hearts, rather than our minds.

My Europe is beautiful and strong and it shall continue to grow, becoming more and more powerful, diverse and peaceful, successfully teaching the rest of the world what the power of dreams and tolerance can achieve.