For years, Geert Wilders of the Netherlands has been the leading European politician to argue for religious criteria for admitting immigrants. I joined in ten months ago with a more cautious article that suggested cultural zones to which refugees are encouraged to go. This blog watches as others argue for the need to take culture – religious and other – into consideration in immigration policies.
July 28, 2014 update: The political spokeswoman, Inger Støjberg, of Denmark's largest opposition party, Venstre, wrote a newspaper article arguing for a distinction between "a Christian American or Swede" on the one hand and "a Muslim Somali or Pakistani."
It is not necessary to set the same requirements for everyone, because as a general rule there is a big difference in the ability and will to integrate between a Christian American or Swede and a Muslim Somali or Pakistani. ... To say it directly, it is primarily Muslim immigrants who do not value democracy and freedom. In certain environments, they directly oppose it. Too many non-Western immigrants with Muslim backgrounds do not want our freedom-orientated society model. ... In the future we should make it easier for those who traditionally can and will integrate to come to Denmark, while we make it more difficult for those who don't have the ability or the will.
Inger Støjberg of Denmark.
(July 28, 2014)
Dec. 17, 2014 update: In "A Vast Migration Tragedy," William Lacy Swing contrasts the deep and lasting pain of immigration tragedies at sea during the World War II era (the Mefkure, the Struma, the St. Louis) with the much larger tragedies taking place right now. "In 2014 more migrants have died traveling — nearly 5,000 — than there were passengers and crew on those three voyages." Indeed, "2014 will be the deadliest year for migrants on record."
Despite these much larger numbers, Swing notes, immigrants no longer win the compassion as they did 70-plus years ago.
Sadly, mass migration has led to a cruel irony: the rise of unprecedented anti-migrant sentiment worldwide. ... Increasingly, we see that policies that criminalize migration invite lethal consequences. ... History reminds us that closing our hearts to the misfortunes of others is a recipe for disaster. Sadly that is what's happening in many parts of the world, with avoidable and tragic consequences for migrants seeking safety.
To which I reply: culture is the key. Unstated by Swing but the assumption behind his entire article is that the West is the destination for all the world's refugees. But why focus only on the West and not on other parts of the world? Surely non-Westerners have moral obligations too.
As I noted in my article above, Muslim refugees are on their way to the West: Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis, Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians, Somalis, Algerians, and others. It is not realistic to ask Europeans, Americans, and Australians to accept these populations; rather, they should be redirected toward Saudi Arabia and other countries culturally more akin and compatible.
Jan. 12, 2015 update: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán responded to the Charlie Hebdo attack by bringing up the culture topic. Hungary Today paraphrased his comments on television:
It is now necessary to talk about immigration and related cultural issues more openly, sincerely and in a straightforward manner, he said. Orbán expressed hope that a composed and calm analysis of recent events will point European leaders and Brussels in the direction of introducing strict policies that restrict immigration in Europe.
"Economic migration is a bad thing in Europe and one should not consider it useful because it will only bring trouble and danger to European people, so immigration must be stopped, this is the Hungarian position," he said. Those that leave their countries for political reasons, to save their lives, "should be given what's due, that is shelter" but Hungary cannot give such refuge to economic migrants, he added.
Compared to other European countries, there are few "people with cultural backgrounds different from ours" in Hungary and these few have mostly fit in well, providing for their own well-being, willing to work, with skills and a desire to find their place in Hungarian society. There is no problem with the minorities that currently live with us and their numbers are not growing at a rate that would "give us a headache," Orbán said.
Mar. 22, 2015 update: The ruling VVD party in the Netherlands has come out against accepting non-European refugees, though on security grounds (some may be terrorists), not cultural grounds.
May 26, 2015 update: Poland's Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz announced that her government will accept 60 Christian Syrian refugee families "for a start," explaining that "Christians who are being persecuted in a barbaric fashion in Syria deserve Christian countries like Poland to act fast to help them."
Comment: Will other authorities in eastern Europe and maybe elsewhere adopt this Christian-only policy?
July 11, 2015 update: Spokeswoman Malgorzata Wozniak of the Polish ministry of internal affairs has announced that "Poland would be ready to host 2.000 people by 2017," meaning Poland will accept 2,000 migrants from Syria and North Africa as part of the European Union's plan to relocate refugees away from its southern states. Again, only Christian refugees are welcome. Starting the process, some 50 Christian families from Syria have already arrived in Poland.
Aug. 19, 2015 update: The Slovak government has agreed to accept 200 Christian Syrian refugees. An Interior Ministry spokesman of the Central European country explained, "In Slovakia, we don't have mosques." Therefore, he went on, Muslim migrants would not feel at home there. Accordingly, he concluded, "We only want to choose the Christians."
Comment: It's a clever way for a government to effect the culture zone policy I advocate.
Nov. 4, 2015 update: Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler of the Center for Immigration Studies note "The High Cost of Resettling Middle Eastern Refugees." Given limited funds, they argue, "relocation to the U.S. may not be the most effective way to help." In other words, they come to the same conclusion as I do but for different reasons, economic ones, not cultural.
Nov. 17, 2015 update: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (Republican of Texas), a leading candidate for president, has come out in favor of taking in Christian but not Muslim refugees from Syria; the Muslim pose more of a risk and can go to Muslim-majority countries. CNN reports that he
has argued that the risk of Islamic militants infiltrating the refugee population is too high for America to accept them with open arms. On the stump across South Carolina, Cruz argued that the percentage of refugees that are young men suggests that ISIS may look to take advantage of any relaxation of immigration laws. The Texas senator instead thinks that Muslims fleeing the Syrian civil war should be repopulated to other Muslim countries. But the Christian population, he believes, has nowhere else to go, and Cruz batted away concerns by telling reporters in Myrtle Beach on Sunday that Christians posed "no meaningful risk" to national security.
Dec. 7, 2015 update: Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, called today for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
July 16, 2016 update: In a 50-second video clip, Vladimir Putin agrees with the point made here that refugees staying in their own cultural zone.
Sep. 19, 2017 update: In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump endorsed the idea of refugees staying local; oddly, no one picked up on this important statement. As befits a businessman, however, he frames the discussion in terms of economics, not culture, making his argument far less convincing than it could be:
For the cost of resettling one refugee in the United States, we can assist more than 10 in their home region. Out of the goodness of our hearts, we offer financial assistance to hosting countries in the region, and we support recent agreements of the G20 nations that will seek to host refugees as close to their home countries as possible. This is the safe, responsible, and humanitarian approach.
For decades, the United States has dealt with migration challenges here in the Western Hemisphere. We have learned that, over the long term, uncontrolled migration is deeply unfair to both the sending and the receiving countries. For the sending countries, it reduces domestic pressure to pursue needed political and economic reform, and drains them of the human capital necessary to motivate and implement those reforms. For the receiving countries, the substantial costs of uncontrolled migration are borne overwhelmingly by low-income citizens whose concerns are often ignored by both media and government.
Comments: (1) This builds on the CIS argument noted at the Nov. 4, 2015 update above. (2) In a year's period, both Putin and Trump have come out for refugees staying locally. Now, when will that become policy?
Nov. 4, 2018 update: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, asked about Western countries closing their doors to immigrants, replied with many references to culture:
Instead of asking me why countries [in the West] close their gates to us, you should ask yourself why the people of Afghanistan don't take better care of their own country. Why have they been killing one another for 40 years? This happens in other countries as well – in Pakistan, in Egypt, in Syria, in Libya, in Iraq, in Yemen, and in Somalia. ...
We fight amongst ourselves in our own countries, and then we expect countries that work day and night to achieve progress to protect their people and to maintain a certain standard of living for them... We demand that they let us in so that we can have part of their [success], after we have been fighting amongst ourselves in our own countries. Of course [they say] "no." I'm not for them or against them, but I am trying to be fair in the way I look at this issue. We should be criticizing ourselves. Are we protecting our countries – yes or no? ...
Are you upset with the leaders of Germany, England, Italy, or any other European country for closing their borders in order to protect the achievements of many long years? Do you expect them to open their doors so that we can go there, demanding to keep our own culture? We demand to keep our culture, which could be very different from the work ethic in those countries. ... You demand to go there with your culture, which you consider to be non-negotiable. You say: "This is how we are, and you must accept us [because of] human rights." No.
By the way, if you go to another country as a guest, you must completely abide by its laws, customs, traditions, and culture. You must abide by them completely! If you are not willing to do this, don't go. Don't expect them to open the door for you, so you can go into their country and cause trouble. No. ...
You've been fighting amongst yourselves for 40 years, yet you expect [the West] to open their doors for you? No. If you want to solve the problem, you should solve it in your own countries. That's why I'm telling Egyptians that they should take better care of their country.
Aug. 16, 2021 update: They don't use the words "cultural zone" but Germany's leaders are talking about refugees from the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan staying in their own region and avoiding a repeat of the 2015-16 influx of illegal migrants to Europe. Some quotes collected by Frederik Schindler in Die Welt:
Chancellor Angela Merkel: Germany should do everything to help Afghanistan's neighboring countries "support the refugees."
CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak: "We will not be able to solve the Afghanistan issue by migrating to Germany."
Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet: "This time we have to provide humanitarian aid in the region, in the countries of origin, in good time. 2015 must not be repeated. I believe that we shouldn't send out the signal now that Germany can basically accept everyone who is now in need. The focus must be on providing humanitarian aid on site, now this time in good time - unlike in 2015."
Thorsten Frei (CDU), vice-head of the Union parliamentary group: "Germany and the international community must do everything possible to support the neighboring states in accepting them and to ensure that refugees are supplied close to home in the region." In 2015, too few refugee camps in Syria's neighbors forced people to make their way to Europe. "A similar development must not be repeated."
SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz: The goal is primarily to support Afghanistan's neighbors and not to repeat the mistake of again ignoring these countries.
A FDP position paper: In talks with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the European Union should establish safe escape corridors for Afghan refugees and Germany's government should engage in in-depth discussions with Turkey about housing other refugees.
