The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers find room for consideration of the Islamic world in the intergovernmental programme of activities of the Council of Europe and in its recommendations to the governments of member states. The following measures are proposed: In the field of education :In the field of education
11.1 A balanced and objective account of the history of Islam should be included in education curricula and textbooks along the lines of the international research project: "Islam in textbooks".
11.2 There should be wider provision for the teaching of Arabic as a modern language in European schools
11.3 Scientific research on Islamic matters should be encouraged, inter alia, by increasing the number of Arabic and Islamic professorial posts in universities. Islam should also be included in mainstream studies, for example Islamic history should be taught in history departments, Islamic philosophy in philosophy departments and Islamic law in law departments, and should not be relegated, as is often the case, to oriental language departments
11.4 Similarly, in theology courses, a comparative approach should be encouraged, including Islamic, Christian and Jewish studies.
11.5 An integrated teaching approach should be adopted to specific areas such as the Mediterranean basin, including studies on religion, philosophy, literature and history.
11.6 Student and teacher exchanges should be set up and developed within a framework of university co-operation between Europe and the Islamic world, along the lines of
Recommendation 1032 (1986) on the creation of a Euro-Arab University. This could be called the "Averroës programme" in comparison with the existing "Erasmus" and "Demosthenes" programmes. In the field of the media
11.7 The production, co-production and broadcasting of radio and television programmes on Islamic culture are to be encouraged. In the field of culture
11.8 Places of cultural and intellectual expression are needed for immigrants from the Islamic world. The development of their own culture, however, should not entail their isolation from the society and culture of the host country
11.9 Cultural itineraries of the Islamic world inside or outside Europe and cultural exchanges, exhibitions, conferences and publications in the fields of art, music and history should be encouraged. Museums have an important role to play in this respect.
11.10 Selected Islamic works, classic and modern, should be translated and published in a manner more conducive to greater understanding in Western society.Administrative questions and everyday life
11.11 Governments should encourage dialogue between Islamic communities and the competent authorities to provide for the religious requirements of their faith (such as holy days, prayer rules, dress and food), while respecting the customs of the host country, in addition to the usual provisions for the association and representation of immigrant and indigenous Islamic communities.
11.12 The twinning of towns between Europe and the Islamic world, especially those which are geographically closer to Europe, should be encouraged.In the field of multilateral co-operation
11.13 A real effort is necessary to provide a basis for a continuing dialogue between Europe and the Islamic world with a view to the reinforcement and development of all democratic and pluralistic tendencies. Particular attention can be given to direct co-operation with specific parts of this world, for example with the Arab countries around the Mediterranean (as a contribution to the possible development of a conference on security and co-operation in the Mediterranean) or with immigrant communities within Europe.
11.14 A positive dynamic should be given to this dialogue by tackling in future seminars key issues such as Islamic fundamentalism, the democratisation of the Islamic world, the compatibility of different forms of Islam with modern European society and, in general, the new problems posed by religions in contemporary society, whether the secular societies of the West or the traditional societies of the Third World. The problems posed by Islam should be examined in the same perspective as those posed by Christianity, by Judaism and by other religions in the world. Such studies will more surely help forward the historical process of the democratisation of traditional societies thanks to a broadening of the cultural horizons on which they are based.
11.15 The Assembly also asks the Committee of Ministers to invite interested countries of the Islamic world to take similar initiatives on a reciprocal basis and, wherever appropriate, to accede to Council of Europe conventions and open partial agreements, with a view to harmonising legislation and developing intercultural understanding.
