Amin Nurdin: The Failure of European Multiculturalism is Not Caused By The Issue of Islamization

Main Auditorium, UIN News Online – The failure of European multiculturalism is not caused by Islamization issue, but also arises from a fear of the ideology of multiculturalism itself.

This was said by Amin Nurdin in his scientific oration titled “Akankah Multikulturalisme Berakhir? Tsalisun li Abawayni: Masalah Transformasi Identitas Imigran Muslim di Eropa”. Amin was inaugurated as Professor of Sociology of Religion at the Faculty of Ushuluddin on Wednesday (05/18/2022) at the Harun Nasution Auditorium, campus I of UIN Jakarta.

According to Amin Nurdin, the emergence of stereotypes containing hatred and hostility towards Islam creates racist attitudes. This stereotype is spread throughout European society through the mass media and politicized by politicians, who do not represent the true picture of the Islamic world.

Furthermore, Amin explained that the West's hatred of Islam on the one hand does not only discredit multiculturalism, but on the other hand also fosters Huntington's thesis titled “Clash of Civilizations”.

“Islamic civilization is considered as the enemy behind the blanket for Western civilization. This issue later became part of the central issue in the 21st century, especially in Western countries,” said Amin.

In particular, according to Amin, Huntington's theory has become an Islamophobic inspiration for many figures, such as Donald Rumsfeld, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Silvio Berlusconi in making their government policies.

This Western fear was actually something Huntington had predicted. This theory also has a political and social effect that gives rise to Islamophobic attitudes in European society followed by discrimination in laws by government institutions aimed at Muslim groups.

In addition, Amin emphasized that the economic crisis experienced by the West and the United States since 2008 is also one of the main reasons for the rejection of multiculturalism. This economic factor is closely related to the higher unemployment and crime rates and the increasing of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant attitudes.

“The cost of implementing multiculturalism is indeed very expensive,” he said.

Amin Nurdin was born in Sulit Air, West Sumatra, on March 3, 1955. He completed his undergraduate education at IAIN Jakarta in 1985, master's education at the Graduate School of UIN Jakarta, and his doctorate education at the Graduate School of UIN Jakarta in 2007. (ns/usa)