Deprivation of National Identity

            The guiding quote for this post comes from a bit of a controversial figure. I may not personally agree with this person’s political ideology, but they provide a certain wisdom that in our more globalized society tends to overlook. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran, proclaimed, “the system of domination is founded on depriving nations of their true identity. It seeks to deprive nations of their culture, identity, self-confidence and in this way dominate them.” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In today’s current climate, there is the promotion of the ‘West is the best.’ Societies are adopting their countries to fit more western ideals. If a country decides to not take this route then it is labeled as an ‘enemy’ or ‘backwards.’

           An assignment my supervisor gave me to investigate for him during the week was the role that Malta played in the United Nation’s International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. The conference was held almost ten years ago in 1994, but it served as an agreement for nations on how to view population growth and what development would be considered. Nations all over the world participated including Malta. The reason that the investigation even became relevant was due to a colleague of my supervisor, wanting to know if Malta signed the agreement.

            In Cairo, the conference advocated for the use of abortion and it solely being up to the discretion of the women. In a country as religious as Malta, this is unheard of. You will routinely see Malta fight any legislation that comes before the Parliament involving abortion. It is a staunchly Roman Catholic society. I knew that Malta was a small conservative island, and that in general the EPP did not support pro-choice, but I was able to get an eye opener into the world of Malta’s strong religious ties. For this reason, Malta was not in full support of the conference.

            Personally, I feel that the separation of church and state is essential to any country. Laws should be made that have no religious bias, but is one that holistically beneficial to all citizens. In Malta, I cannot comment on whether their system is inclusive or not, because it appears the nation is united on these issues. A large majority of the population identify to be Roman Catholic. This is made apparent throughout the culture and the government of the Island. It also has the highest rate of religion of all the European Union Member States where the average is around fifty percent.

            The support of religion did not simply end with the support of pro-life. While working on what Malta’s exact stance was, Pauline informed me that divorce was recently made legal in Malta. Yes, you read that correctly. Divorce was not legal in Malta until 2011. Before that year, citizens could get separations, but the marriage could never be terminated. It would just remain in limbo. Now divorce may be legalized, but the couple has to remain separated for FOUR years before the divorce will be finalized. Divorce is not looked favorably upon in the island and goes against God’s plan, so any way it can prevented is what the nation aims towards.

            All of this was just so much for me to wrap my mind around! Perhaps this is attributed to the fact that I belong to country built on the concept of church and state being separated. America is arguably a Christian nation, but it for the most part does not determine legislation. A person from Malta coming to the United States would view it as a secular cesspool. Like many of the other nations in the European Union, the United States is seen to be progressive in being secular. Supposedly not relying on religion points towards a society that has advanced and is in the modern age.

            All of this provoked a question that had died off from the European circuit: what about Turkey? Turkey, a country that lies in both Europe and the Middle East, has been seeking accession into the European Union. It is a nation of Europe with heavy Middle Eastern influence. When becoming a part of the European Union, there is a sort of checklist that must be complete before becoming a member. For poor Turkey, completing this checklist just hasn’t been working out. The Achilles heel of it all: Islam.

            Like Malta, Turkey is a nation whose laws are highly dominated by the religion of Islam. It has an affect on the overall culture that is Turkey. To the European Union, this does not represent the religion neutrality that it promotes. Turkey needs to become less of an Islamic state, but how can the entire culture of a nation be altered? It was all hypocrisy in a sense. Malta was far from being a religious neutral state. It was highly dominated by Catholicism. This did not harm Malta joining the European Union in any way, shape, or form. These religious sentiments are even seen on the floor of the Parliament as Malta always fights against the issue of legalized abortion.

            Is this a double standard of the European Union? Is it threatened by the Islamic identity? Is Islam not a factor in the pan-European identity lawmakers wish to create? It is an inevitable reality as more and more Muslims migrate into the EU, but it can be kept at bay if an Islamic state is not allowed to be a member. The European Union has said if Turkey can alter this then it can join, but how is that all close to fair?

Link on turkey problems with joining

            Perhaps Ahmadinejad was on to something. A valid point had been made. ‘Europe’ was looking to change the identity of Turkey. Seems like a bit of a contradiction to have a united Europe if parts of Europe are excluded.