The current vision of Islam, still that of some well-intentioned observers, often makes errors of perspective, owing to their attachment to ethnocentric assumptions and to the mechanical transfer of specific concepts to a cultural field in which they have no place. The attacks perpetrated by Islamist groups, like the one on the Twin Towers in 2001, should teach the countries of the European Union to establish some rules of coexistence with Islam, inside and outside our frontiers. For this purpose, it must be established very clearly first of all what culture is, and differentiate it from the uses and customs of other countries, Muslim or non-Muslim, where European immigration comes from. If they do not clash with the principles of the rule of law, they can be enriching for our globalised society as a whole. Historical experience teaches us that we must always add and not take away.

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