Heads in the Sands of Paris?

Submitted by J.S. (Canada), Nov 26, 2006 at 13:05

In 2002 the Weekly Standard published an excellent article about Muslims in France ("Allah Mode" by Christopher Caldwell). The article is available on the Internet (the article has two parts.)

Caldwell began the article by noting what's taking place in Seine St.-Denis. Here, one third of the residents are Muslims, and the community has a 30 percent unemployment rate. But most notorious are the ring of housing projects surrounding Paris. These areas are rife with lawlessness, violence, and crime. As Caldwell argues, these areas are similar to American "inner cities". Caldwell quotes an observer who calls the Paris housing projects "a Soweto that dare not speak its name." But unlike the ghetto areas in the U.S., these areas in France are inhabited by Muslims. It's this growing "Muslim underclass" in France which has many people concerned (particularly when it's coupled with radical Islam). Thus a "reactionary machismo has been established " under the influence of Islam.

Another difference (between U.S. urban inner cities and French slums) that Caldwell highlights is that in the United States one finds blacks at all levels of government (from mayors, to governors, to state and federal representatives) -- with Muslims in France, this is not the case. Even though the number of Muslims in France equals (per capita) the numbers of Blacks in the States, you won't find Muslim politicians, mayors, etc. They are excluded from the political process.

Finally, as Caldwell also notes, it's something of a "chicken or egg" problem in terms of what causes what -- does French discrimination cause the marginalization or does self-selected isolationism cause the discrimination (or is it a combination of both)?

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