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The Enemy Within Europe's Borders
Clashing cultures impede assimilation...
[J. F. Kelly, Jr.] 8/10/05

Recent experiences with Islamic fundamentalist terrorism are causing many citizens of the countries of Europe to reflect on their liberal immigration and border policies designed to facilitate easy transit. Approximately twenty million Muslims now call Europe home and because of a much higher birthrate than that of native Europeans, the number is growing rapidly. In fact, Islam is the continent’s fastest growing religion.

Liberal immigration policies in Europe are partly a consequence of empire building. Former colonial powers like Britain, France, the Netherlands and Spain extended their rule over large portions of Asia and North Africa and subsequently drew many Muslim immigrants from these lands. France, with the largest Muslim population among the countries of Europe, once declared Algeria an integral part of France, conferring citizenship on all Algerians. France wasn’t successful in hanging on to Algeria but a lot of Algerians decided that living in France beat living in the Sahara Desert. Turning them into Frenchmen, however, has proven to be challenge. Measures designed to encourage assimilation such as banning religious headdress and the display of religious articles in public schools drew angry protests from Muslims.

Because of Europe’s easily traversed borders, the Muslim population increased rapidly throughout much of Europe. Most apparently have blended in successfully but clearly large numbers have not and have resisted efforts at assimilation, fearing the erosion of their Muslim values and culture. In fact, many of them renounce and condemn the western values of their adopted countries as corrupt and decadent. This, obviously, does not build patriotism and good citizenship. It has caused, rather, a disaffection and withdrawal from the rest of the population, creating a bitter and hostile underclass, incited to anger by radical Islamic leaders based in European cities who are permitted by their magnanimous hosts to freely preach hatred of all things American, European, Christian and Jewish and, for that matter, most things non-Muslim.

Britons seemed shocked to realize that the bombers in their midst were actually their very own new citizens and neighbors. Mostly from Pakistan, they had accepted all the benefits and freedoms of citizenship but felt no gratitude or loyalty toward the adopted country that provided them.

Hopefully, only a small percentage of the burgeoning Muslim population in Europe is angry and alienated enough to blow up trains, busses and their fellow citizens but sympathy for those that do probably extends beyond just a small percentage of European Muslims. Assimilation, of course, is the answer but it cannot be achieved merely by holding hands and singing, “Getting to know you”. The cultural differences are not minor, they are immense and they are not easily reconciled. Europeans, like Americans, believe strongly in the separation of church and state. Many, if not most, Muslims believe that religious laws override. What Islam denounces as haram, or prohibited, is often accepted practice or even law in the modern western world. Some Muslims believe, to use an admittedly extreme example, that a Muslim man may divorce his wife simply by reciting three times the words, “I divorce you”. How convenient!

Assimilating people of vastly different cultures and religions is difficult enough when people are encouraged to practice tolerance while getting used to one another but when fundamentalist religious leaders preach hatred and intolerance, difficulty turns to danger and Western Europe is now rife with it. Europe’s leaders must take some of the blame for this because of overly liberal immigration policies and endless patience with Islamic radicals in their midst preaching hatred of westerners.

This may change now. Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned radicals that such behavior will no longer be tolerated but the warning comes late. And even if European nations tighten up on immigration, the Muslims population already there will grow rapidly and forever change Europe’s proud but receding cultures.

Immigration has often been described as the lifeblood of the United States. We are a nation of immigrants, enriched by the various cultures that united to build the greatest country on earth. But these cultures truly blended and assimilated, cherishing the memories of the old ways but eagerly embracing the new culture and language. Described originally as a melting pot, the process is now more aptly described as a salad bowl. The greater the cultural and religious differences, the greater will be the challenges to assimilation.

Unrestricted immigration is a risky business in an age of terrorism. The recent experiences with terrorism in Europe should encourage us to finally get a handle on our own dangerously lax immigration policies and out-of-control borders. But these lessons seem lost on the Bush administration and on Congress. Voters should demand better and hold them accountable for their continued failure to act. tOR

copyright 2005 J. F. Kelly, Jr.

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