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Islam, Immigration, and the WEST

Reader comment on item: The Swiss Ban on Minarets: A Possible Turning Point

Submitted by LOU FROM QUEENS,NYC,USA (United States), Dec 8, 2009 at 01:58

After World War II, Western European countries overestimated their need for immigrant labor. Instead of investing in new technology, they drove down labor costs, and destroyed the powerful labor unions by importing cheap workers without regard to the long term social and political consequences. The economic assumptions, that immigrants increased national wealth were incorrect. With old industries such as textiles already in decline, immigrant workers merely delayed the necessary process of restructuring. In many of these older industries the wealth they generated was only small percentage of the GDP. In most cases much of the wealth generated by immigrant businesses that appear in economic statistics is absorbed by the costs of accommodating them in their new environment thru social services, and welfare payments. In addition, many immigrants send a good amount of money back to their home countries. The terrorist bombings in London and Madrid, the riots in the Paris, the growing Muslim prison populations, and the horrors of unreconstructed patriarchy in the form of "honor killings," systemic homophobia, and the bizarre medical "hymen repair operations" allowing women to recover lost virginities are all dangerous precedents. The Muslim versus Muslim versus everybody horrors taking place in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, Somalia, the Sudan, and elsewhere are also etched into the consciousness. There are now many native born citizens who now fear Islam and wonder if it is a primeval, expansionist religion impervious to change or reform.

The current levels of Muslim immigration are unprecedented. In the past, groups of immigrants were big enough to enrich the lands of settlement but not so big as to threaten them, the sheer volume of Muslim immigration endangers the indigenous cultures of Europe, not least because those cultures themselves have become precariously fragile. Political correctness, anti-racism, and multiculturalism, born of guilt about colonialism and shame about the Holocaust, are eroding national cultures, while failing to produce any sensible or coherent vision of a common European identity. The current European model of citizenship: You are one person for your culture and another for the law borders on the absurd. You can be an official (legal) European even if you are not a "real" (cultural) European. These viewpoints may sound tolerant and liberating, but it has its downside. Rights are attached to citizenship. As soon as your citizenship becomes legal, so do your rights.

Immigrants to Europe have been able to exploit their rights as both citizens and residents, by staking claim to the health and welfare (birth to grave) benefits to which the native born are entitled. Western European countries have provided the most generous benefits ever given to workers anywhere at any time in history. With shortened working hours, seven-week vacations, full health coverage, and wages for unionized workers reaching almost $45 an hour. This along with social spending has impeded investment, stifled risk-based entrepreneurship by small, flexible start-up companies that has driven most of the innovation in recent decades especially in the new information economy. The USA, by contrast, is less indulgent: contrary to the myth of American openness, immigrants are pressured to conform. An immigrant may maintain his ancestral culture, but if culture or religion prevents him from speaking English fluently, being skilled or productive at work, he will probably remain improvised. And those low skilled high paying manufacturing jobs with great benefits at the big three auto makers no longer exist.

Europe has become a multiethnic society partially by design but mostly by accident. European societies have yet to find satisfactory ways of institutionalizing Islam within their national politics. This is partly due to the fragmentary and contested nature of Islam itself, in which no formal priesthood stands between the individual and a God who reveals himself in texts that are subject to, and have a wide variety of interpretations. Historically the religion has no coherent worldwide hierarchy.

Several Islamic organizations act as interlocutors with various governments, such as the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM), are rejected by Muslims as being too political, not political enough, or simply not representative of people. It is clear that as a religion formulated during an era of political ascendancy, the mainstream traditions of Islam have yet to find comfortable moorings in the mostly secular, pluralist, free-thinking, and somewhat materialistic West.

The funding of European mosques and Islamic institutions from ultraconservative countries is another dangerous reason for concern: in France, the Union of Islamic Organizations (UIOF) —is an umbrella group of doctrinaire Muslim youth organizations linked to the radical Muslim Brotherhood. It gets a quarter of its annual budget from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and other foreign donors. Two thirds of the imams in France live on welfare, as do a similar number in Britain. A majority of them are foreign-born and trained, and have received little instruction in science, Western culture, religion, or the history of their new homelands. A minority of them have been exposed as, "preachers of hate." The British laissez-faire model of leaving immigrant communities to manage themselves has allowed extremism to flourish in complex, and dangerous ways. Islamic missionary organizations such as the Tablighi Jamaat, known for its pietism and abhorrence of politics, nevertheless encourages a separatist spirit in which extremism can be incubated: most of the men convicted in September for the plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives in soft-drink bottles had connections with the Tablighi Jamaat, as did two of the suicide bombers who murdered fifty-two people in the London transport system in July 2005.

Even marriage can be an agent of radicalization: the first generation of migrants' children pleased their parents by marrying cousins imported from Pakistan or Bangladesh, their children's insistence on marrying Muslim partners of their own choice is leading to the creation of a Muslim identity that transcends the older patterns of "encapsulated" settlement based on region, culture, language, and extended family networks. This new home grown, pan-Islamic identity both feeds on and contributes to the perceived hostility of the host society: the Rushdie agitation in 1989, the row over the "insult" to Islam conveyed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in publishing a cartoon showing Muhammad with a terrorist bomb as his turban, the marches in France protesting the headscarf ban in schools, the riots of youth in Parisian suburbs, and episodes of Islam phobia reported on al-Jazeera television or in the Muslim press all contribute to the sense of an embattled community that is also flexing its collective muscles.

Despite the legal, institutional, and cultural differences of the European host countries in which Muslim immigrants find themselves, a growing web of data points in an alarming direction. The bottom line is that Islam is a religion of believers who themselves see no demarcation between church and state. In their homelands the religion as practiced is intertwined with the political and judicial system. Most Europeans and Americans are not only skeptical, but, as heirs to the Enlightenment, they regard religious skepticism as essential to their outlook, and as a strong part of their national heritage. This is in addition to their absolute belief in freedom of thought, speech, and assembly.

A shrinking population of several hundred million Europeans lives north of the Mediterranean, while a growing population of several hundred million lives south of it, many with a desire to take up residence in Europe. A certain minority of that Islamic population are radicals dedicated to Europe's destruction by armed violence. Europe's basic problem with Islam, and with immigration, is that some of the strongest communities in Western Europe are, culturally speaking, not entirely European anymore. This problem exists in all European countries, despite a broad variety of measures taken to solve it—multiculturalism in Holland, France, benign neglect in Britain, constitutional punctiliousness in Germany.

Islam is one of the world's largest religions that have at various times produced enlightened, tolerant, and reformist societies. But all propaganda to the contrary; it is neither a European or American religion nor even a great part of their cultures. The Muslim presence in the West is not just a problem of religion, values, and cultures, but as a psychological one as well. Western societies in general and Europeans in particular are experiencing a very deep, multidimensional "identity crisis" flowing from the double effects of globalization and growing third world economic power, pride, and nationalism. Everywhere European landmarks of national identity and cultural memory are being eroded or challenged from both within and without. The presence of immigrants that are so chauvinistic in their own beliefs adds to their feelings of discomfort, and confusion.

While aging populations need immigrants to sustain their economies, the new comers threaten ideas of cultural homogeneity. Much of their own identity, beliefs, and economic livelihoods have been endangered by radical politics, globalization, and the communications revolution. Europeans now seem trapped in an irreversible cycle. Economic necessities are in conflict with the cultural forces around which their identity is based. Muslims living in the West face similar predicaments. Their identity crisis generates anxiety leading them toward attitudes of self withdrawal and isolation. Unfortunately these socio- economic problems have not been openly and honestly addressed, and both sides seem to be trapped in positions of their own making. Unfortunately the politicians seem to be content taking sides, jockeying for power, rather than honestly addressing these issues, and problems head-on.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (96) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
eu council opposed to a general ban on wearing of the burqa and the swiss minaret referendum [23 words]mythJun 23, 2010 17:31174719
Ban of Minarets is religious intolerance and not going to help on broader issues [161 words]Jalal Ul DeenApr 23, 2010 09:15171605
Minaret, a symbol of Islamic supremacy [77 words]UgriApr 24, 2010 07:54171605
1He Converted [29 words]MogaFeb 11, 2010 00:45168774
And now the politician who initiated this HAS EMBRACED ISLAM everybody [19 words]Michelle HarmerFeb 2, 2010 15:19168306
Video: The islamic Trojan Horse, according to Swiss Politician Oskar Freysinger [44 words]RickJan 3, 2010 22:46166811
The responsibility of knowledge. [215 words]Larry B.Jan 26, 2010 10:28166811
Chemtrails [14 words]XuomgangzhwaJan 30, 2010 21:12166811
Video Interview with Oskar Freysinger [28 words]RickJan 2, 2010 19:38166745
Muslims in the rest of the world. [124 words]Bob MillerDec 27, 2009 01:56166321
Great Idea!! [52 words]JaladhiDec 30, 2009 15:56166321
Swiss are terrorists [73 words]roberts prenserDec 16, 2009 12:08165930
Oh, come on [93 words]Charles RipleyDec 30, 2009 18:00165930
not pleased? [82 words]DrindusDec 31, 2009 02:38165930
Baseless allegations [86 words]VK TiwariJan 1, 2010 10:04165930
Swiss courage [63 words]John NormanDec 13, 2009 07:57165769
Hey politicaltheatics.net...here is my voice. [211 words]themanDec 13, 2009 00:31165758
Bravo, Swiss Voters ! [83 words]SergeyDec 8, 2009 05:33165490
Islam, Immigration, and the WEST [1558 words]LOU FROM QUEENS,NYC,USADec 8, 2009 01:58165485
muslim outrage [164 words]DavidDec 7, 2009 18:12165478
The ban is fine - no one needs minarets [83 words]Henrik Ræder ClausenDec 6, 2009 12:25165423
A story.. [175 words]LovelibertyDec 6, 2009 08:19165420
A comment from Germany on the on the minaret ban in Switzerland [347 words]Andreas HaasDec 3, 2009 22:36165358
Ban of minarets in Swiss [48 words]Seyan HameedDec 14, 2009 10:59165358
Baraka Allahu Feek [79 words]Noorallah AminDec 17, 2009 00:37165358
Oh yes, God bless [33 words]James ForsythJan 2, 2010 05:35165358
:only 51% of Swiss voted. If all had voted, it would not have passed [27 words]Gunter OttoDec 3, 2009 10:28165345
Now that is an egregious comment [89 words]Yuval Brandstetter MDDec 7, 2009 03:51165345
Shutdownthemosques.org [31 words]John HENRYDec 1, 2009 16:20165285
lesson to muslim infidels [182 words]muslimk***Dec 1, 2009 15:03165282
Eurabia or not? [85 words]N.T. HamDec 3, 2009 15:12165282
Lefties don't even recognize objective journalism anymore! [7 words]MaryDec 1, 2009 12:51165280
An Act of cowardice [158 words]RajaDec 1, 2009 11:01165273
1To Raja... [113 words]ReggieDec 2, 2009 12:32165273
Double Standards of Muslims. [186 words]vijuDec 8, 2009 09:11165273
The hypocrisy of muslims is now clearly evident [226 words]AndyDec 30, 2009 00:43165273
wait for the good time [5 words]Raja...Jun 7, 2011 07:20165273
DOUBLE STANDARD [515 words]LOU FROM QUEENS, NYC, USADec 1, 2009 10:53165272
hear, hear [356 words]Charles RipleyDec 30, 2009 18:34165272
Religious politics is a dirty game [222 words]StefchoDec 1, 2009 10:52165271
Swiss Ban on Minarets- Give them an inch they'll take a Mile! [151 words]DebbieDec 1, 2009 08:08165266
Contentious issue [34 words]CanadianChrisDec 3, 2009 01:48165266
First blood by the neo-fascists in Europe [86 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiDec 1, 2009 08:00165265
Swiss elections only the first step [140 words]yonanuDec 3, 2009 06:01165265
The usual Muslim hypocrisy!!! [398 words]JaladhiDec 5, 2009 18:14165265
Blood libel [74 words]Henrik Ræder ClausenDec 6, 2009 13:49165265
Ghulam Muhammed's sympathies for Jews. Wow! [196 words]Joe BlackDec 7, 2009 02:16165265
grateful guests? [128 words]the Grand Infidel of KafiristanDec 10, 2009 17:07165265
Out of your league [42 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiDec 11, 2009 07:34165265
request for clarification - what is a minaret after all ? [96 words]mythDec 1, 2009 07:37165263
Re Dr Pipes - why Matthew Yglesias thinks you approve - an added argument about legitimacy [137 words]mythDec 1, 2009 06:30165258
The Swiss dismantle their own constitutional values and discard the rule of law. [49 words]Franz von FearDec 1, 2009 03:49165252
No Constitution Can Be a Suicide Pact [11 words]Sofa SogoodDec 11, 2009 15:02165252
Swiss Vote on Minarets. [158 words]GAraham R-BDec 1, 2009 02:53165248
People vs Minarets [74 words]outspoken2Nov 30, 2009 22:56165234
Other steps must follow [72 words]Roman LenskýDec 1, 2009 04:46165234
After all there was no minaret during muhammad's time and no loud speakers., [103 words]indian_kufrDec 1, 2009 05:11165234
No more minarets [67 words]AyashaNov 30, 2009 22:01165230
wake up Europe [29 words]foshNov 30, 2009 21:41165229
Keeping our fingers crossed. [23 words]KerryNov 30, 2009 20:40165227
European intifada? [71 words]Peter HerzNov 30, 2009 19:38165226
Minarets are our bayonets [89 words]UgriDec 1, 2009 02:54165226
One Can Hope [219 words]Ron ThompsonNov 30, 2009 18:29165224
A mosque is not a house of prayer [130 words]G.VishvasNov 30, 2009 17:51165222
It's true most mosque is ambassador of Arabic imperialist [190 words]LadyDec 1, 2009 05:38165222
Kingdom of Kabah [15 words]bary soetoroJan 14, 2010 02:03165222
Swiss Common sense [77 words]DeltaMike67Nov 30, 2009 17:35165220
That is the point, people do not want islam rule [60 words]LadyDec 1, 2009 07:50165220
Freedom of religion is one-sided in Islam [101 words]Islam RevealedNov 30, 2009 16:14165216
You ar very wrong [276 words]gugukkushuDec 1, 2009 15:57165216
from secular turkey!!! [75 words]spaDec 2, 2009 03:29165216
4List of Islamic nations that have death penalty for practicing "freedom of religion" [277 words]Islam RevealedDec 2, 2009 09:44165216
Reply to gugukkushu [45 words]wmabradDec 4, 2009 04:54165216
Last time i checked.... [145 words]AndyDec 30, 2009 02:43165216
Response: The Truth not the media [171 words]MuslimOct 21, 2012 11:16165216
Islam [35 words]Gene C FowlerNov 30, 2009 16:11165215
Islam- Always changing and Adjusting to deceive and overthrow - response to Gene C. Fowler. [212 words]Anne- USADec 1, 2009 08:24165215
political corruptness will win in the end - and the Swiss will lose [71 words]Cheryl MavrikosNov 30, 2009 16:01165213
No jumping for joy over here [49 words]There is NO Santa ClausNov 30, 2009 15:56165212
Iran is not a team of Arab imperialism [63 words]LadyDec 1, 2009 07:35165212
Switzerland and Islam [176 words]Dan RusenNov 30, 2009 15:44165211
Minarets [105 words]WillyNov 30, 2009 14:00165209
offensive and counter-productive [29 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Larry SeltzerNov 30, 2009 13:42165208
Abominates [21 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
GavinNov 30, 2009 13:07165207
The "rage" comes next [126 words]susanNov 30, 2009 12:56165205
What a tar brush! [69 words]StefchoDec 1, 2009 12:31165205
Right On [81 words]WatsonDec 4, 2009 03:40165205
Muslims Must Understand the Asymmetry of their Desires [88 words]RLR in CONov 30, 2009 12:50165204
Poor choice to lead a moral cause [102 words]Richard S. DavisNov 30, 2009 12:27165203
A 'neutral' Switzerland is no longer neutral [63 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiDec 1, 2009 23:28165203
Ghulam - do you know what fascism means? [167 words]Martin KDec 3, 2009 12:07165203
Islam Does Not Recognize Swiss Neutrality [217 words]M. ToveyDec 3, 2009 15:45165203
Minarets in Switzerland [58 words]Janusz KowalikNov 30, 2009 12:05165202
Kudos to the Swiss [100 words]Joan NeelNov 30, 2009 12:02165201
Political Correctness and Islam [136 words]Roger MuddNov 30, 2009 11:49165200
Shouldn't West treat Muslims the same way as the Islamic countries treat non-Muslims?? [109 words]JaladhiDec 7, 2009 09:14165200

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