Europese identiteit en exclusie: de discursieve constructie van de 'joods-christelijke' traditie.

While the EU Parliament did not endorse the reference to Europes Judeo-Christian roots in its the constitution, the motion nonetheless provoked an on-going debate concerning Europes identity. On the one side are those who cite the Judeo-Christian commandment to care for the stranger as central to European civilization, on the other are those who argue for the exclusion of Islam from Europe in the name of the Judeo-Christian tradition. While the media claims that Islamophobia is caused by a European identity crisis, these claims lack academic validation. To do so, I will (1) investigate the identity facet of nationalism in the 20th century with its concurrent rise of anti-Semitism (2) examine whether the current identity based rhetoric of Judeo-Christianity veils a violent past while producing a new enemy, and (3) apply these results in the analysis of Europes current situation with regard to Islam. Aware of the differences between Europes two forms of anti-Semitism, one Judaic the other Islamic, my working hypothesis is that an important parallel is to be found in relation to European identity formation. If this is the case, then perhaps the awareness of both the parallels and differences may help to prevent history from repeating itself.

Trefwoorden:Islamophobia, Politics, Other, Community, Exclusion, Europe, Judeo-Christian