The Party of European Socialists (PES) – a caucus representing 214 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) drawn from 33 socialist and social democratic parties – has created a committee to seek ways to combat Islamophobia. Believing that Islam is now a European religion, the 25-member committee wants to “listen” to the 20 million Muslims now living in Europe in a bid to understand their problems, as well as provide solutions to alleviate their grievances.
PES says it resents the fact that the tone, nature and timing of the debate on Muslims in Europe have so far been set by ultranationalist and far-right parties. They also complain about the lack of serious answers given to parties that have flourished on enmity toward the Islamic religion.