Europe and Islam

At the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul, it was proposed that a "European Muslims group" should be formed. There is an Asia group, an Arab group and an Africa group in the OIC, so why should there not be a Europe group? 

Of course, when one says "Islam" and "Europe," colossal issues and hopes come to mind. 

The suggestion was made by Bosnia and Herzegovina President Bakir Izetbegovic, and it was supported by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. It was indeed suitable for Turkey to support it, and the suggestion was unanimously approved at the general assembly. 

We will see further developments on this. But before anything else, Bosnia and Herzegovina should be accepted into the OIC as a full member, rather than just an "observer."  

Two names come to my mind when European Muslims are mentioned. One of them is our Cevdet Pasha and the other is the late Bosnian Muslim leader, Aliya Izetbegovic. 

I see these two great names as symbols of how the concept of religion is affected by geography and social environments. They also show how much need there is for a "renewal" or a "renaissance" in Islamic thought.

Cevdet Pasha was born in the European territories of the Ottoman Empire. He was one of the architects of Ottoman modernization in the 1860s. At the time when political reforms started being made in the Ottoman state in 1839 - such as the banning of slavery - there were revolts in Arabia claiming that "Turks have become infidels."

These words of the wise leader of the Bosnians, Aliya Izetbegovic, summarize almost all the problems of today's Muslims: "If it were up to me, I would assign a 'critical thinking' course to all schools in the Muslim East. Unlike the West, the East has...