EUROPEAND ISLAMNo European democracy has the perfect way to handle IslamNov 15th 2015, 16:02 BYERASMUS in the economistEUROPE'S democracies are standing united in the face of the nihilistterror which struck the heart of the continent on November 13th. With nofear, this time, of alienating patriotic voters, David Cameron managed a fewwords of French as he expressed his solidarity with the French people.Even before the latest attacks, it was clear that the leadinggovernments of Europe faced broadly the same dilemma. Within the large andgrowing Muslim communities which every European state now hosts, a minority isattracted by the cause of violent extremism, at home or abroad. The challengeis to keep that minority small and make sure that the rest of society,including the rising generation of Muslims, plays its part in this.But in their approaches to this problem, European states have always haddifferences, often robust ones. At least in pre-9/11 days, French securitychiefs used to refer scathingly to "Londonistan" because of theBritish capital's willingness to harbour Islamist opponents of secular regimes,like the one which usurped power in Algeria. There are differences of ideology as well as practice. Like America,only a bit more so, the French republic has a specific set of foundingprinciples and it expects all citizens to accept them, however diverse they maybe in other respects. It is agreed that one of the purposes of universaleducation is to inculcate those ideals. That is in sharp contrast with theBritish ideal of multiculturalism. To French eyes, it seems that Britain hasbeen too lax in allowing immigrant sub-cultures, like the Asian Muslim enclavesof northern England. The existence of British schools (whether private orwithin the state system) where the ethos is that of ultra-conservative Islamcan seem astonishing to observers from France, or from other European states whereeducation is more centralised.Britain now acknowledges that multiculturalism has gone too far,especially in education, but in a country that lacks a written constitution,there is uncertainty over what common denominator citizens and schoolchildrenshould be asked to accept. Whatever answer is found, it will not as demandingas the French approach. In Britain, the decade-old French law that barsheadscarves from schools seems like an infringement of liberty. When JackStraw, the former foreign secretary, said he preferred Muslim visitors to hisoffice not to wear full face-veils, he was denounced as grossly insensitive byfellow Labour politicians. Thatsentiment is still widespread.Not only is each European country different, each one is changing at adifferent pace and in a different direction. In contrast with secular France,post-war Germany has always had a lot of religious education, Protestant andCatholic, in its school system. Now there is increasing provision for Islam;what will happen after the arrival of more than a million refugees, mostlyMuslim, is anybody's guess. The Netherlands used to be generously multiculturalbut a sharp reaction set in after the murder of Theo van Gogh, a film-maker, bya Muslim fanatic in 2004, and the effects are still palpable.The hard truth is that no European country has found the ideal balancebetween accepting diversity (which is the natural impulse of a liberaldemocratic state) and demanding adherence to a common set of values. That isbecause no