Europe and Islam: Degrees of Separation

THE ECONOMIST – ERASMUS BLOG: AS NEWS reports from different countries remind us every day, the political, legal and educational institutions of Europe are struggling hard to find ways of incorporating the new reality of Islam into older systems for regulating religion.

In Britain this week, a lobby group called the Lawyers' Secular Society reacted with indignation when an event it was planning at the University of West London was cancelled by the hosts at the last moment. The event was intended to launch a report that drew attention to the number of Islamist figures with hard-line views on gender, sexuality and relations with other faiths who were gaining access and influence on British campuses. The meeting's cancellation seemed to confirm their apprehension. The campus insisted that its decision was made on purely technical and procedural grounds: the organisers had not gone through the proper channels to book the room. Read on and comment » | Friday, November 14, 2014