The symbolism of a mosque

But as Western Europe is plunged into a new bout of anxiety over the impact of post-colonial Muslim immigrationreeling in varying ways from the implications of a recent Swiss vote to ban minarets altogethersome scholars see a destructive dynamic,with assimilation feeding a reaction that spawns resentment,particularly among young Muslims.

Vincent Geisser,a scholar of Islam and immigration at the French National Centre for Scientific Research,believes that the more Europes Muslims establish themselves as a permanent part of the national scene,the more they frighten some who believe that their national identity could be altered forever.

Today in Europe,the fear of Islam crystallises all other fears, Geisser said. In Switzerland,its minarets. In France,its the veil,the burqa and the beard.

The new mosque,which its builders call the symbol of Marseillais Islam, is a source of pride in Frances second-largest city,which is at least 25 per cent Muslim. But it is also cause for alarm,Geisser said,embodying the paradox that visible signs of integration set off xenophobic anxiety.

The change has been significant over the last five years,Geisser said. Now were at a crossroads, he said,of a complicated European anxiety that stems from economic crisis; the fear of globalisation; the perceived increase in immigration as European birthrates fall; and the subsuming of national states into an enlarged Europe.

There is an angst over identity in Europe, he said. Theres a feeling that Europe is becoming smaller and less important. Europe is like an old lady,who whenever she hears a noise thinks its a burglary. This generalised anxiety and fear is translated into a specific one,he argues: Islam,a box in which everyone expresses their fears.

The European Union is believed to have more than 15 million Muslims. France has five million to six million Muslims,the most in Western Europe.

In general,relations between Muslims and other Europeans have been good. But the terrorism associated with attacks in France in 1995 and 2001 in the United States has resonated through the years,reinforced by the Madrid train bombings in 2004; the killing that year of the Dutch film director Theo van Gogh,a critic of conservative Muslims; the London bombings of 2005; and the controversy over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published the same year.

In 2004,France banned the head scarf and other signs of religious affiliation in public schools. It is now debating a ban on the burqa,by which the government seems to mean any full facial covering,including the niqab,which shows the eyes. That controversial measure is caught up in a government-sponsored debate over national identity,led by the ministry that also handles immigration.

This year,the Danes and the Swiss have brought a new focus to mosques and minarets. Plans for Copenhagens first two large mosques have met with strong opposition from the right. The Swiss vote brought widespread condemnation of fear-mongering and racism,including from Switzerlands own government.

Youcef Mammeri,a writer on Islam in France and member of the Joint Council of Muslims of Marseille,says the debates over minarets,burqas and national identity have angered many French-born Muslims and made them defensive.

When he travels abroad,to New York,Barcelona or Algiers,Mammeri said,Im French; I feel French. But in France,in Marseille every day,you have these same questions,repeated stupidly: what about the burqa,the mosque,terrorism.