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Furthermore, there is the fact that the “Judeo-Christian” definition is problematic for the religion it excludes, namely Islam.
Muslims, like Christians, are natives of Europe and have exerted influence across the continent for centuries. In the Iberian Peninsula, Muslims developed a mixed culture in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived in relative harmony. They brought oranges, lemons, cotton, and rice, the staple ingredient in paella. But when Christians took over the peninsula, millions of European Muslims were killed, expelled, or forced to convert.
Nevertheless, even after their expulsion, Muslims had a significant impact on the Spanish and Portuguese languages, as well as their cultural and architectural heritage. The Alhambra, the Mosque of Cordoba, and the Alcazaba (from Arabic Kasbah) is still a sacred place in Malaga, visited by millions of people today.
The discomfort with acknowledging Islam as part of Europe is similar in the southeast of the continent, which was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Hungarian baths, Serbian burek, Mostar bridge – all European heritage sites owe their existence to Islamic medicine, culinary traditions and architecture. And ignoring that history would not only be counter to historical truth, but would also be a disservice to the millions of Muslim Europeans who are made to feel that they don’t really belong in Europe.
Moreover, jumping straight to Ancient Greece seems oddly selective: leaving aside the nature of ancient Athenian democracy – no slaves or women allowed, orgies before and after voting – if you look at the timeline of how long Europe has been democratic since Athens, you’d have to skip a fair few emperors, protectors, popes, first consuls, emperors and dictators before you get to free elections with universal suffrage.
Even today, democracy remains only a minor exception to the way Europe has been ruled throughout most of its history. Many European countries remain dictatorships long after World War II, and Greece is no exception. Democracy may have been invented in Europe, but Fascism and Communism were equally prominent European inventions. The Roman Empire gave us the word “senator,” but it also gave us the word “dictator.”
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