Turkey knocks. But will Europe open the door?

This single act of terror caused the Netherlands, "arguably the most liberal of all countries, ...[to] become a battleground of what journalists term a 'clash of cultures,' " says Mr. Meinardus.

The future integration of Muslim populations is the subtext dominating Europe's mind. And it is played out on two levels, he says.

First, Europeans see the events in the Netherlands as a reminder that the government's immigration policies [and Europe at large] have failed to reach their primary objective - the integration of the newly arrived Muslims as citizens with equal rights and obligations.

[And second] the unwillingness on the side of many Muslim immigrants to become a part of the social mainstream... 'We Muslims lack a theology of integration,' says Mohammed Aman Hobohm, a leading member of the Central Committee of Muslims in Germany. ...the Koran offers no guidelines to Muslims on how to behave in non-Muslim environments.

Refusing to accept the injustice and misery at home, and appalled at the freedoms they see around them when they arrive in their promised land, they are unable to achieve a synthesis that will bring them peace and equilibrium. ... . Too often, these troubled souls fall a victim to the siren song of extremism that seems to show them the way out of their existentialist conundrum.

12/01/04 Hamas to boycott elections 11/30/04 Report: Pentagon wants 10,000 more troops in Iraq 11/29/04 'They hate our policies, not our freedom'

Sign up to be notified daily: Find out more.

But the subtext here must be seen through the lens of the Madrid train bombing last March and the Dutch experience, a view that reflects poorly on "Muslims, even the large number born and brought up in [Europe], as a disturbing internal threat," writes Mr. Husain in the Times.

Polls indicate that a majority wants immigrants to go back. Indeed, many illegal immigrants are now facing the very real threat of forced repatriation.

In France, another European country with a large Muslim minority, tensions between the two communities is running high. Indeed, across the continent, there is a growing consensus, calling for tougher measures to deal with immigration. The subtext here is that fewer Muslims should be allowed in.

Austria's conservative government said on Wednesday that it "wanted a decision from the European Union summit on December 17, to remain open to offering Turkey less than full membership," reports Baku Today.

Vice Chancellor Hubert Gorbach from Austria's far-right Freedom Party added that this condition was necessary.

'We absolutely want the text to say there is not only the possibility of joining (the EU) or not joining, but that it be open to a possibility between those two,' Gorbach said.

The Dutch who hold the EU presidency "have appeared to rule out [a special partnership] and Turkish leaders, along with Britain, have rejected any special conditions that did not apply to previous EU candidates," says Baku Today.

A draft statement circulated by the Dutch presidency on Monday did not spell out any explicit alternative to Turkish membership but set a string of tough conditions for talks....

The draft left blank the crucial wording of a decision on whether, when, or how, to open entry talks with Ankara for the EU leaders to fill in at the summit.

In his monthly column in the December issue of First Things, a magazine whose purpose is to "advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society," and of which he is editor-in-chief, Richard John Neuhaus quotes Middle east specialist and Princeton professor emeritus Bernard Lewis about Islam and the West.

By the end of the century, if not before, 'Europe will be part of the Arabic West, of the Maghreb.'

Rev. Neuhaus reaches back in history to the last time Turkey knocked at the gates of Europe.

In 1683, ... the West, led by Polish forces, turned back the Turks at the gates of Vienna. Absent that victory, Europe might very well have become an Islamic culture. In view of the birth dearth among Europeans and the swelling number of unassimilated and vigorously reproductive Muslim immigrants, the reconquest of Europe by Islam may be well underway. It is estimated that within a decade several major cities of Europe will be majority Muslim. All this gives new urgency to the question of Turkey's admission to the EU.

For Westerners, too, the presence of millions of foreigners in their midst who refuse to integrate, or even accept the basic values of secularism, liberalism, and democracy, presents an uncomfortable dilemma. Different societies have tried to work out different solutions, with varying results. So far, nobody can claim to have an answer to this most vexed question of our times: 'How far should liberal societies tolerate the intolerant?'

Also...
• The impact of a Turkish entry in the EU ( EurActiv)
• Letters: Should Muslim immigrants 'melt' into European culture? ( The Christian Science Monitor, Israel)
• Tolerating the intolerant ( Mid Day)
• Interview: Geert Wilders-the new Fortuyn? ( UPI)
• Return to Reason by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing ( Zaman)

• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Jim Bencivenga .