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Roundtable: identity crises in Europe

Sunday, 22 February 2015

"Identity crises in Europe" was the theme of the round table sheltered by the the CCME pavilionon the sidelines of the Casablanca Book Fair in its 21th edition.

To discuss it, a panel consisting of Michel Wieviorka, a sociologist Ali Benmekhlouf; philosopher and Mohamed Tozy political scientist responded to the invitation. Their interventions were moderated by Khalid Hajii, President of the European Council of Ulemas of Morocco.

Ali BenmakhloufIn his speech, Ali Benmakhlouf defended universal humanitarian principles and the unity of these principles that constitute a unique identity for all humanity.

Through a series of philosophical examples, he spoke of an attempt to dismantle the unique identity that carries the values ​​of humanity, he gives the example of France, which is trying to protect its "liberty, equality and fraternity "as they are universal values ​​that everyone must maintain significantly.

The Moroccan thinker who specializes in the philosophy of medieval Arabic logic, confirmed that the value of fraternity, for example, in the first chapter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not just a theoretical idea but it should appear through a daily practice.

On the Western perception of Islam, Benmekhlouf called for not making it a scapegoat and hold it responsible for the violent events in the world which fractures the common human identity.

Michel WieviorkaFor his part, the French sociologist and writer Michel Wivuorka devoted his speech to make an inventory of historical identity tensions emphasizing that they are not the product of the moment and that they go back a long time.

He also notes the obvious increase in identity crises that occurred with the emergence of the concept of the motherland which "does not accept an identity other than that of the state" in fact, in the late sixties and within the state of European nations emerged regional groups claiming their particularities and advocating for the recognition of their rights to be different, which was followed by the advent of the principle of cultural coexistence until the Muslims marked a new component in Western societies, which brings the matter to the forefront.

Moreover, he emphasized the fact that the identity is not tied to inherited values, but results from mutations and stresses at the same time that the identity is not the antithesis of individualism, rather it means that a person chooses his culture and identity individually, in addition to the fact that one cannot attain identity in virtual forms, it is forged through direct and concrete encounters.

Mohamed TozyMeanwhile, Mohammed Tozy evoked the theme of identity from the political science perspective, particularly from the perspective of a political identity management.

He says that what is happening in some Muslim countries is rooted in the history of the unifying voice of the modern state, which does not automatically accept the differences fueling tensions in societies

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