Europejska islamofobia a muzułmanie w Polsce

Abstract

European Islamophobia and Muslims in Poland

In 2011 prominent politicians across Europe admitted failure of multicultural policy. At the same time immigration from the Muslim World to Europe is still on the rise, as well as the anti-Muslim prejudice in the countries receiving the largest influx of immigrants. This article examines the situation of Muslim minority in Poland, comparing it to the complicated history of co-existence and recent outbursts of violence towards Muslims in Western Europe. Briefly exploring the history and current situation of Muslims in Poland it also traces the causes of the tense situation between Muslims and the rest of the society in France and Great Britain, namely: the history of colonialism and the reasons for immigration, the cultural and scientific heritage of Orientalism, different relations between church and state, the policy of multiculturalism, and recent peak of religious hate crimes in both of these countries. All of these causes are later compared to the situation in Poland – with its different historical as well as cultural background and today’s attitudes of Polish society towards Islam. The comparison supports the conclusion that the religious discrimination, tensions, violence and other negative events happening in Western Europe are highly unlikely to happen in Poland in the immediate future. However, the prejudice and lack of knowledge about Islam and its followers may hinder integration and cause tensions between the Muslim minority and Polish, mainly Catholic, society.