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| 教 育 專 題 深 入 報 導《2007-08-10》 |
| 本期內容 | |
| ◎歐洲建造清真寺面對反對聲浪European mosque plans face protests | |
| ◎穆斯林在美國日益壯大Muslims gaining strength in United States | |
| 歐洲建造清真寺面對反對聲浪European mosque plans face protests | |
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在歐洲，原本數量不多的伊斯蘭教人口目前已經是僅次於基督教的第二大宗教。從今年年初開始，數個大城市發起一連串抗議興建清真寺的示威行動，倫敦的網路請願、科隆的抗議遊行、馬賽的官司訴訟以及柏林的暴力事件，挑起了歐洲人的反伊斯蘭情緒。 歐洲的穆斯林以往都屈就於車庫或是舊工廠行每日五功之中的禱告，現在，他們希望能夠聚集在足以彰顯其信仰真誠的清真寺，並建立具有實體組織的伊斯蘭教社群。但是他們要達成心願，路途顯然漫長且不甚順遂。 歐洲社會抗拒的輿論稱清真寺的建造具有「伊斯蘭化」（Islamisation）的意圖，清真寺的圓頂尖塔被認定會破壞城市天際線的美觀，其實，也暗示清真寺是恐怖攻擊行動的指揮中心，或指稱穆斯林聚集的禱告地點具有潛在的危機。 歐洲伊斯蘭教發言人塔爾克‧拉瑪登（Tariq Ramadan）表示：「與日俱增明顯存在的穆斯林已經給歐洲各大都市帶來了立即的問題。」他曾與瑞士右派團體爭辯清真寺尖塔存在的必要性。 上月月底，新任英國首相布朗的網站被駭客入侵，反對清真寺蓋在2012年奧運會址旁，該項活動撤下網站之前，請願的連署人數超過27萬人，是英國轟動一時的新聞話題。 同月，德國科隆、柏林和慕尼黑亦發起了反對興建清真寺的示威遊行；法國右翼團體投票表決對馬賽政府提出訴訟，因其二度支持伊斯蘭教團體建造一間新的清真寺。 必卡爾‧傲伯（Bekir Alboga）是科隆以土耳其族裔為主的土耳其族伊斯蘭事務聯盟（DITIB）成員，他認為反對建造清真寺者都忽略了以下一點。他表示：「穆斯林想要建造清真寺，是希望可以找到一處能夠自在禱告的地方，像是回到家的感覺一樣，他們希望自己的宗教可以和他們所認同的社區和平共處。」 信仰的價值 興建一座清真寺需要一段長時間的計畫。穆斯林領導人和政府官員必須互相了解，徵詢各方支持，而市長通常也會以此藉為整合少數族群的施政計畫之一。而有基督教成份的右派份子會持反對意見，因為在歐洲，教堂、聚會所等這類聚集禱告的地方往往是具有代表性的指標建築或是城鎮中心。 柏林洪堡大學伊斯蘭研究學者瑞米史‧賓華斯（Riem Spielhaus）提出歐洲近來氣氛緊張的原因：「搭建一座清真寺所帶來的反應可以回溯社會變遷痕跡，無論這些變化是好是不好，穆斯林歸屬何方，或是伊斯蘭信仰的優劣與否，都應該重新被提出來討論。」但是，史賓華斯表示，令人遺憾的是，原本的討論焦點往往變成討論恐怖攻擊、女性在信仰中的角色地位，甚至是清真寺的停車位。 倫敦反對蓋清真寺的地方委員會是由基督教團體領導的，他們擔心若設立了一處可以容納1萬2千人的清真寺，該地區將變為單一信仰地帶，鄰近地區的信仰進而被漠視為小眾。他們也以2005年7月在倫敦發生的清真寺自殺炸彈客事件，指控欲建造清真寺的伊斯蘭團體（Tablighi Jamaat）會危害這個城市的安全。 德國科隆土耳其族伊斯蘭事務聯盟計畫建造一座鄂圖曼式清真寺，其規模會比德國最大的哥德式大教堂還要宏偉，他們因此被課稅。「我有很不舒服的感覺。」科隆的羅馬天主教領袖、樞機主教約阿希姆‧邁斯納（Joachim Meisner）說道：「一座清真寺會改變市區的樣貌，從歷史角度來看，伊斯蘭移住民帶來的影響會使德國文化，或是歐洲文化出現斷裂。」 柏林西區潘科（Pankow）正進行清真寺的興建計畫，當地穆斯林人數並不多，從3月開始，支持者和示威群眾不斷爆發衝突，工程工地亦有焚車事件發生，連新納粹主義者也加入抗議陣線。 人權不應被忽視 歐洲的穆斯林族群屬法國最多，有近5百萬人，國內清真寺的歷史也最悠久，許多城市首長還提供低價土地給他們興建清真寺。右派組織國家共和運動 （National Republican Movement），今年出乎意料地贏得巴黎市郊和馬賽兩件補助案，1／4補助對象為穆斯林。 馬賽市長讓－克勞德‧戈丹（Jean-Claude Gaudin）被攻擊支持興建一座天主教的清真寺，經過10年抗戰，他取得了較高利率的補助金，他告訴市議會：「每個人都有在教堂或清真寺禱告的權力。」馬賽多數的穆斯林現在已經能夠到鄰近的清真寺進行信仰禱告活動。 在瑞士，兩個右翼團體發動公投，以抗議清真寺影響市容為理由。而義大利反移住民的北部聯盟上個月因為安全理由，要求所有清真寺關門接受檢查。2006年，托斯卡尼的示威遊行者把一個豬頭丟在清真寺大門口。 穆斯林的處境在某些國家不甚穩固。希臘曾在鄂圖曼人下宰治了4個世紀，但穆斯林的第一座清真寺才在上月完工，另一座比較大的新建計畫尚擱置。 在西班牙，伊斯蘭文化的觸角一直發展到1942年，天主教領袖拒絕穆斯林進入原為清真寺改建的教堂禱告。另外，一個當地穆斯林團體想要複製一座小型的清真寺，但他們還沒把案子遞出，社會壓力之巨大可想而知。 （路透社） Petitions in London, protests in Cologne, a court case in Marseille and a violent clash in Berlin -- Muslims in Europe are meeting resistance to plans for mosques that befit Islam's status as the continent's second religion. Across Europe, Muslims who have long prayed in garages and old factories now face skepticism and concern for wanting to build stately mosques to give proud testimony to the faith and solidity of their Islamic communities. Some critics reject them as signs of "Islamisation". Others say minarets would scar their city's skyline. Given the role some mosques have played as centers for terrorists, others see Muslim houses of worship as potential security threats. "The increasingly visible presence of Muslims has prompted questions in all European societies," Tariq Ramadan, one of Europe's leading Muslim spokesmen, argued when far-right groups proposed this year to ban minarets in his native Switzerland. The issue hit the headlines in Britain in late July when a petition against a "mega-mosque" next to the 2012 London Olympics site was posted on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Web site. It attracted more than 275,000 signatures before it was taken down. In Germany last month, there were anti-mosque protests in Cologne and Berlin and a local council voted against one in Munich. A French far-right group vowed to sue the city of Marseille for a second time for helping build a "grand mosque". Bekir Alboga of the Turkish Islamic Union (DITIB) in Cologne said critics who see these new mosques as signs of separatism or of an Islamic colonization of Europe miss the point. "The desire of Muslims to build a house of worship means they want to feel at home and live in harmony with their religion in a society they have accepted as theirs," he said. HIGH SYMBOLIC VALUE Major mosque projects need years of planning. In the process, Muslim leaders and city officials get to know each other better and most mayors end up supporting them as projects that help integrate the new minority. But neighborhood groups and far-right activists, sometimes joined by Christian leaders, have recently spoken out against them as it became clear they would soon have a mosque next door. The tensions arise because houses of worship have a high symbolic value in Europe, where the cathedral or church is usually the centre of town, said Riem Spielhaus, an expert on Islam in Europe at Berlin's Humboldt University. "A mosque symbolically retraces the changes that have been made in society," she said. "It reopens the debate on whether these changes are good, whether Muslims should live here, even whether Islam is a good religion." But this is rarely discussed openly, she said. Disputes about mosques tend to focus on other issues, such as terrorism, the role of women or the availability of parking spots. Critics of the London mosque, led by a local councilor from a Christian group, argue a large mosque with room for 12,000 worshipers will turn the integrated neighborhood into a "one-faith zone" driving out followers of other faiths. They also charge that Tablighi Jamaat (TJ), the Islamic missionaries building the mosque, are a security risk because "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid and two suicide bombers in the July 2005 London attacks followed the publicity-shy movement. In Cologne, DITIB's plan for a modern Ottoman-style mosque has met charges it will be too big for a city housing one of the most imposing Gothic cathedrals in the Christian world. "I have a queasy feeling," Catholic Cardinal Joachim Meisner said. "A mosque would give the city a different panorama. Given our history, there is a shock that Muslim immigration has brought a cultural rupture in our German and European culture." A mosque project in Pankow, an eastern Berlin area with few Muslims, sparked violent clashes last month between supporters and opponents. Neo-Nazi groups have joined the protests and a truck was torched at the construction site in March. "EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT..." France, whose five million-strong Muslim minority is Europe's largest, has a longer history of mosques in its cities and many mayors provide land at low cost for them. A far-right political party, the National Republican Movement (MNR), unexpectedly won two court cases this year against these subsidies in the Paris suburb of Montreuil and in Marseille, where a quarter of the population is Muslim. Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin of Marseille was so set on seeing a "cathedral mosque" built after decades of debate that he quickly got approval for a new contract at slightly higher rates. "Everyone has a right to a significant house of worship," he told the city council. Most Marseille Muslims now pray in neighborhood mosques too small for their congregations. In Switzerland, two right-wing parties have launched a petition for a referendum to ban minarets on mosques there. Italy's anti-immigration Northern League called last month for all mosques there to be closed for security checks. In December 2006, protesters left a severed pig's head outside a mosque being built in the Tuscan town of Colle di Val d'Elsa. Concern about Islam has deep roots in some countries. In Greece, which lived for four centuries under Ottoman Turkish rule, Muslims only got their first purpose-built mosque in Athens in June. Plans for a larger one are still on hold. In Spain, a bastion of Islamic culture for eight centuries until 1492, Catholic leaders nervously turned down a request from Muslims to pray in Cordoba Cathedral, originally a mosque. A local Muslim group wants to build a half-scale replica of the mosque for its own use, but has not yet submitted its plan. 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| 穆斯林在美國日益壯大Muslims gaining strength in United States | |
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美國一位穆斯林教長指出，在美國，穆斯林的地位已經逐漸改善。這和媒體所呈現的形象其實是對立的──媒體總是把穆斯林塑造成令人懷疑的激進份子。 耶亞‧亨荻目前在喬治城大學任教，他也是一名穆斯林教長。他表示，2001年發生的911攻擊事件，讓美國人對依斯蘭教有更進一步的瞭解，也讓穆斯林對美國身分產生認同。擁有巴勒斯坦血統的亨荻，在沙烏地阿拉伯參訪時對一群當地的學者說：「我認為未來是光明的，因為我們有與現實周旋的智慧。」 「第二代與第三代進行了很多努力，希望打進政治體制內。我們所面對的挑戰是媒體和一些不願意見到伊斯蘭教出現在美國的極端基督教人士。」他說，為數7到9百萬的穆斯林，正在努力連結美國社會與伊斯蘭教之間的關係，這些努力包括為伊斯蘭國家尋找資金。 亨荻指出：「去年我們把首位穆斯林送進了國會，而我預測到了2015年，我們會有3到4個國會議員和最少30個市長。在美國，目前共有4百個穆斯林律師，在911發生前，我們只有9名穆斯林律師。」 19名阿拉伯裔穆斯林在911事件中於紐約和華盛頓殺害了大約3千人，導致美國緊縮安全措施，一些人權團體認為，這些安全措施不平等對待阿拉伯人和穆斯林。在911事件發生後，亨狄曾與美國總統布希見面，他說，穆斯林已經摒棄了不碰政治的舉止，開始投票和投入競選。之前穆斯林不投入政治，是因為覺得這樣是對美國文化的投降。亨荻並不覺得美國社會普遍上對穆斯林存有敵意，他鼓勵穆斯林參加情報組織如美國中央情報局和美國聯邦調查局。 「每年有1萬7千人加入伊斯蘭教，但是這些人數還是少過加入佛教和福音教會的人數。」亨荻也告訴他的沙地觀眾，他並不會以奉行宗教習俗如戴頭巾或者一天祈禱5次來判斷一個人是穆斯林與否。 沙烏地阿拉伯是伊斯蘭教的聖地，911事件中的19名涉案者中，15名來自沙烏地阿拉伯，該地嚴格跟隨遜尼派教義，教長有極大權力確保教義得以遵守。很多沙烏地的教長譴責什葉派為異教徒。 「我處理婦女有沒有戴頭巾的問題，那是我的工作。或許有些人會不同意。我們不需要標籤──你是異教徒、穆斯林、你將會上天堂。我只是處理一個市民的問題，阿拉才是最後的裁決者。」亨荻如此說。 （路透社） Muslims are steadily improving their position in U.S. society, contrary to the media image of a community besieged by suspicions of links to militants, a leading U.S. Muslim cleric said on Sunday. Yahya Hendi, a prayer leader who teaches at Georgetown University, said the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001 had spurred Americans to know more about Islam and Muslims to affirm their U.S. identity. "I think the future is bright, because of our wisdom in dealing with the reality," Hendi, a Palestinian by birth, told a gathering of Saudi academics on a visit to Saudi Arabia. "There are serious efforts being made among the second and third generation to become part of the political establishment. The challenge we face is in the media and from some Christian extremists who don't want an Islamic presence in America." Hendi said U.S. Muslims, whose number he put at 7 to 9 million, were working on "nationalising" Islam as part of the fabric of U.S. society, including cutting funding links to Muslim countries. "Last year we elected the first Muslim to Congress and I expect that by 2015 there will be three or four as well as at least 30 mayors," he said, adding there were now 400 Muslim lawyers in the United States compared to nine before Sept. 11. The Sept. 11 attacks, when 19 Arab Muslims killed about 3,000 people in New York and Washington, led to strict security measures in the United States that some rights groups say often unfairly target Arabs and Muslims. Hendi, who met President George W. Bush days after Sept. 11, 2001, said Muslims had thrown off a tendency to shun political action such as voting and running in elections because it was considered akin to surrendering to U.S. culture. He said he did not feel there was general animosity towards Muslims in American society, and that he encouraged Muslims to join intelligence bodies like the CIA and FBI. Islam has some 17,000 converts a year, but that was behind converts to Buddhism and Evangelical Christianity, he said. Hendi also told his Saudi audience that he did not believe in judging Muslims and non-Muslims over practices such as wearing the hijab head cover or praying five times a day. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites and 15 of the 9/11 attackers, practises a strict form of Sunni Islam that gives clerics wide power to ensure that rites are followed to the letter. Many Saudi clerics denounce Shi'ites as heretics. "I deal with a woman whether she wears a hijab or not, that's my position. Maybe some of you will disagree," he said. "There is no need for labels -- 'you're an infidel, Muslim, Islamist, you'll go to heaven'. I deal with citizens whoever they are and God REUTERS |
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