Inter-state relations and the influence of religion : the Christian/Islamic interface

Abstract

Religions are about love and peace however more people died in the name of God than because of other causes. This is because Religion is used by leaders and governments for their interests and political aims. This happened more in Europe since it is a multi-religious continent and through out its history Europe passed through a lot of conflicts because of its diverse Religions. Today in Europe one can still find prejudices between Religions, even though it is a secular region. This caused hardship to the Muslims that migrated after the-Second World War to work in Europe. These were recruited by European governments to work in Europe and to help in the post war reconstruction. However when these Muslims settled in Europe and tried to integrate within European society, they were faced with a lot of problems. The Europeans rejected the demands made by Muslims to build their own religious infrastructure. This was because of prejudices against them that were still not eradicated from European society. Today these prejudices form the basic arguments against Turkish membership in the EU. This dissertation will focus on the role of the Religion on International Relations, on how the multi-religious nature of Europe impacts in the relations between states and between European states and their neighbours and finally on the impacts on the EU by the membership of a Muslim state.