Journey into Europe

Dr. Amineh Hoti of the Journey into Europe team sat down with female members of the Muslim community in Granada, Spain at the Mayor Mezquita de Granada. Constructed in 2003, it was the first mosque built in Granada since 1492 when the Muslim Nasrid dynasty, which built the Alhambra Palace, fell.

Professor Ahmed and the Journey into Europe team were in Granada, Spain where they visited the beautiful Alhambra Palace, the top tourist destination of Spain today.

Originally built as a fortress in 889 and converted into a royal palace in 1333, the Alhambra was the palace of the Muslim rulers in Granada under the Nasrid Dynasty. The Nasrid Dynasty ruled Granada until 1492 when it was defeated by the Christian monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. This brought to an end the era of La Convivencia where Jews, Christians, and Muslims were able to co-exist with one another.

Ambassador Ahmed and the Journey into Europe team arrived in the autonomous city of Melilla as part of their travels through Spain.

Melilla, alongside Ceuta, is one of two Spanish cities situated on the North African coast bordering Morocco. This small city, comprising 12 square kilometers of territory, has been part of Spain since 1497. The city’s population numbers 78,000, about half of which are Muslim, consisting mainly of Berbers of the Rif. The rest of the population is mainly Christian, and also includes Jews and Hindus.

In Melilla, Ambassador Ahmed met with and interviewed a number of leading dignitaries of the city including: the President of Melilla, Juan Jose Imbroda Ortiz; the Spanish government delegate Abdelmalik el Barkani; and Fadela Mohatar Maanan, the President of Melilla’s Institute of Cultures and the Assistant Director of the Department of Women’s Affairs. Being both a Berber and female, the dynamic Ms. Maanan is in the perfect position to act as a true ambassador between the faiths and communities in Melilla. Ahmed and his team also met the leadership of the various religious communities in Melilla and visited all the major houses of worship representing the different faiths. They were honored to be guests at a special interfaith dinner hosted by Ms. Maanan and attended by the heads of the different religious communities.

During the interview with the President, he spoke of the importance of the city of Melilla as a living example of la convivencia, or coexistence, between various faith communities. He also discussed the importance of education and knowledge for instilling this respect for other peoples and faiths from a young age. Appreciating the importance of the Journey into Europe project, the president wished Ambassador Ahmed and his team much “exito” or success on their journey.

Ambassador Ahmed and his team recently arrived in Cordoba, Spain where they were welcomed by Casa Arabe and its Director General, Ambassador Eduardo Lopez Busquets.

Casa Árabe is a Spanish public consortium headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. It operates as a strategic center for Spain’s relations with the Arab world, a meeting point where different stake-holders and institutions, both private and public, from the worlds of business, education, academia, politics and culture dialogue, interact, establish lines of cooperation and undertake joint projects.

In order to complete its mission, Casa Árabe possesses two headquarters, one located in Madrid and the other in Cordoba, which provide it with a privileged geographic position not only in the Mediterranean region, but also as a mediator of exchanges between the Americas and the countries on the Persian Gulf, where the presence of Spanish companies and professionals is growing larger and larger.

Ambassador Ahmed was honored to host Ambassador Lopez Busquets in April for a special lecture at American University’s School of International Service titled “The Islamic Legacy of Spain.”

While conducting fieldwork in Cordoba, the Journey into Europe team had the privilege to meet with leading figures in the Muslim community, the Bishopric of Cordoba, prominent scholars from across Spain at a conference specially organized by Casa Arabe, and cultural figures such as musicians and artists. Ambassador Lopez Busquets and his Cordoba representatives, Amira Kedier and Javier Roson Lorente, himself an anthropologist, received the Journey into Europe team with traditional hospitality. Our friend Javier graciously promised to accompany us to his hometown of Granada for the next round of our visit in Andalusia. Ambassador Lopez Busquets made special trips from Madrid in order to make the team feel welcome.

In Cordoba, the team had the opportunity to visit a number of historical sites including the Cordoba Cathedral/Mosque, seen in the background of the video of Ambassador Lopez Busquets. In the video, Ambassador Lopez Busquets discusses the idea of the Cordoba paradigm, based in coexistence between communities or la convivencia, in conjunction with the mission of Casa Arabe.

During a visit to Hull, United Kingdom, the Journey into Europe team had the opportunity to sit down with Lord Bhikhu Parekh, a prominent British scholar and pioneer in studying multiculturalism in Britain, to discuss the British Muslim community and the history of Islam in the UK and Europe.

Born in Gujarat, India, Lord Parekh completed his PhD at the London School of Economics and embarked on a career in academia at the University of Glasgow, the University of Hull, and as the Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics. He has served as the Vice-Chairman of the Commission on Racial Equality and Chairman of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain. He has also been the vice-chancellor of the Ghandi Foundation, a trustee of the Anne Frank Educational Trust, and a member of the National Commission on Equal Opportunity. In 2000, he was made a Life Peer in the House of Lords.

In Glasgow, the Journey into Europe team interviewed two distinguished Muslim politicians representing two different generations– Bashir Maan and Humza Yousaf.

Mr. Bashir Maan, CBE, is a leading Scottish politician, businessman, judge, community worker and writer. In 1968 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for the City of Glasgow, the first Asian and Muslim Justice of the Peace in Scotland. 1970, he was the first Muslim to be elected to public office in the United Kingdom, serving as a Labour Party councillor for the Kingston ward of Glasgow. He is the author of the books New Scots and The Thistle and the Crescent.

Mr. Humza Yousaf, MSP, is a member of the pro-independence Scottish National Party and represents Glasgow in Scottish Parliament. He is currently the Scottish Minister for External Affairs and International Development and is an alum of the University of Glasgow.

In the footsteps of my relative, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Dr. Amineh Hoti

Walking in the footprints of one of the greatest educationist reformers in South Asia was a huge intellectual gift for me. I am on the project, led by Professor Akbar Ahmed, called “Journey into Europe” in London’s Goodenough Club—staying in the same building in which Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had once lived. Visitors to Mecklenburgh Square can see the plaque on the building honoring his stay and those who have access to the building can see his portrait in the corridor as one enters.

Single-handedly, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) led the Muslims of the Subcontinent towards a modern Muslim identity. Inspired by his visit to the University of Cambridge in England, he set up a University for Muslims in Aligarh, India. From this institution came leaders, prime ministers, policy makers, historians, scientists, and many other prominent figures in society. In the colonial time when there was deep suspicion of “the Other” especially after the bloodbath of 1857 when Muslims were being persecuted, some Muslims were distancing themselves from all that was foreign, especially British education, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan encouraged Muslims to progress and not to hold back but to educate themselves, learn English, and develop better relations with the other in order to create deeper understanding and better communication. The idea of Pakistan came from Aligarh—the majority of the people in the Muslim League party that moved the motion for the creation of Pakistan were from Aligarh.

In Tehzeeb-e-Ikhlaq, a journal he founded and led, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wrote articles calling for the people of the Subcontinent, especially the Muslims, to leave behind blind imitations of culture and use reason and logic to lead more meaningful and thoughtful lives. He argued that if the people of the Subcontinent (Muslims and Hindus) continued to follow old traditions and superstitions then they would be like a disabled person with one eye but if they progressed and developed the vision and thought to move forward through knowledge and education then their example would be, in his own words, like that of a beautiful bride.

The Centre for Dialogue and Action at FCC in Pakistan, which I have the privilege of being the founding Executive Director, has just successfully taught its first pilot Diversity course—one of the classes focused the students’ attention on the inclusive tolerant vision of Pakistan’s founding fathers, including Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and the Quaid-e-Azam, Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah. These leaders had a vision of a modern Muslim society with rights for every citizen regardless of race or religion and above all the respect for law and order. Considering the chaos of so much of the Muslim world, it is a vision worth reminding the world of. When men and women with extreme views hold up plaques of their heroes like Osama bin Laden (which they are openly doing in the capital city of Pakistan), leaders and teachers need to remind students and the public of the alternative model, in order to keep the symmetry—Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and the Quaid-e-Azam were clearly educated men of vision and above all they were great bridge-builders between different people and nations. This Journey into Europe is one such adventurous exploration in which Professor Ahmed and his team of field researchers and scholars (myself included) will look at how people in the modern world can live side by side more peacefully. It is rich fieldwork material for teachers and students of peace building courses and it is a valuable alternative for a world in which the cacophonous voices of hate and anger are unacceptably far too loud.