Muslims They Immigrate, But Do They Assimilate?
By Thomas D. Segel (06/25/04)
Living next to the Texas-Mexico border gives one a different view of life than is experienced by most Americans. On one side of the Rio Grande are millions of Mexicans willing to risk anything to cross that ribbon of muddy water. North of the riverbank is another population made up of citizens, legal residents and undocumented workers. Ethnically, 90% of this population is Hispanic.
If you remove the divisiveness of politics and ask people how they view themselves or those around them, most will say they are Americans. Many will say they are Texans. Few, if any, claim allegiance to Mexico or any Latin American country.
The culture here is also unique. From food to festivals we all call it Tex-Mex. The richest in culture, customs and traditions of both nations have been blended into a unique way of life, which might seem strange to some, but proves to be very rewarding for those of us who make our homes in the Rio Grande Valley.
Now compare this cultural assimilation by both Hispanic and Anglo along the U.S. border with what exists in countries experiencing immigration by Muslims.
France has seen a large Muslim immigration, primarily from Algeria, Senegal and Mali. These immigrants, currently estimated to number 4 – 5 million, have never been totally accepted by the French citizenry of 56 million.
France has seen an explosion of mosques, now in excess of 1,200. With a growing resentment toward Muslim immigrants, the presence of these mosques increases the anxiety about Muslims felt by the French Christian community. The large number of young Muslims who claim no allegiance to France, but instead claim to be Islamists, further heighten this anxiety.
France does have a radical–Muslim problem. This militant version of Islam is not being imported, but is increasingly homegrown. It includes not only Muslims on the fringe of French society, but hundreds of highly-educated and westernized French Muslims who are becoming intoxicated with the holy-war ideology being preached throughout western Europe. When asked, most Muslims living in France will deny any involvement or interest in assimilation into French culture.
Muslim immigration to Germany has been primarily from Turkey. Since 1990 there has been an increase in Muslim asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, resulting in an immigrant population of Muslims in Germany of about 2.5 million.
In Germany, Muslim youth are following an Iranian concept known as “the new holy-war community of believers.” It recognizes no national or ethnic identity. It even shows distain for traditional Islamic values. This new doctrine is one referred to by The Weekly Standard as ,“a belief that suicide and murder become sacred acts of believers who want to bring about a purifying Apocalypse.”
Holland has seen the ultimate failure of a thirty-year experiment with intent to develop a tolerant multicultural society. Government officials claim their worst mistake was to encourage Muslim children to speak Turkish, Arabic or Berber in elementary school, not Dutch. The result… 850,000 Muslims who have failed to assimilate into the nation’s culture, import spouses from their home countries, create militant enclaves, actively preach Jihad and work to build a terrorist network in this nation of only 16 million.
Our most important ally, Great Britain, has not been immune to a growing Muslim presence. In 1951 there were only 23,000 Muslims in Great Britain. Fifty years later there are over 2 million. In addition to a documented Muslim immigrant population made up primarily of Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis, there has been a large influx of undocumented Arabs and Somalis whose numbers are disputed.
That these are true asylum seekers is suspect. They have been seen by the thousands in mosques listening to anti-western Islamic rhetoric. It is known some are taking lessons in making incendiary devices and other weapons of terror.
France has gone so far as to warn Britain that many of those it is sheltering under the asylum system are radical-Muslim terrorists. According to Frontpagemag.com, French intelligence services have even disclosed the names of known terrorists living in Great Britain and told the British which mosques these terrorists attend. Nothing has been done and Britain’s Muslim problem continues.
Currently there are about 23 million Muslims residing in Europe. Of course, they are not all fundamentalists. In all fairness it must be noted that many Muslims have become westernized. By accepting western values and lifestyle, they have also made themselves targets to the more militant of Islamic factions. There is major conflict between the new western approach to life and what those who claim to be Islamists demand. Those Muslims who adopt western ways are also the enemy in the eyes of fundamentalists.
Islamic fundamentalist hatred of all things western baffles both Europeans and Americans. This hatred is a rejection of western civilization, not only for what it is, but for the values it professes. Among the Islamists, those who promote or accept this life style are enemies of God – they too are the infidels……..
In Islam the war between good and evil has both political and military dimensions. By their philosophy, according to Bernard Lewis writing in Atlantic Monthly, “If the fighters in a war for Islam, the holy war in the path of God, are fighting for God, it follows that their opponents are fighting against God. And since God is in principle, the sovereign, the supreme head of the Islamic state…then God as sovereign commands the army.” Lewis goes on to write, “The duty of God’s soldiers is to dispatch God’s enemies as quickly as possible to the place where God will chastise them, that is to say, the afterlife.”
Islam is more than religion. It is also the politics of Muslims and the platform upon which Muslims base their militancy. As this radical version of the faith has grown, it has destroyed the culture of a once great people. Once leading the world in art, science and education, militant Islam has reduced every land where it flourishes to that of a Third World country. It has triggered more warfare than any other faith. Try to think of two or three wars raging in the world not involving Islam.
Muslims in America have found open hostility since the events of September 11, 2001. Some leaders of the Islamic community have been urging Muslims to return to the countries of their origin. Other leaders have been urging the establishment for stronger Islamic communities here in the United States. While traditional Islamic law states Muslims should reside in their own lands, it also concedes that Muslims may live in non-Muslim lands as long as they fulfill their religious obligations.
Observers see the Muslim community as being very conflicted because of the pronouncements by its own leadership. Increasing the conflict is the fact that Muslims born in the United States are more open, more tolerant and less sectarian. This creates divisions, which have detrimental effects within these closed communities. Regardless of being U.S. born or immigrant, all Muslims in America share similar views on international Muslim politics, the hypocrisy of United States foreign policy, and negative media reports about Muslims.
Viewed from the western perspective, Muslim immigration into the United States is becoming a concern. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the nation. In just over thirty years, immigration from the middle east has grown from about 15% to 73% Muslim. . From a small number in the 1970s, middle eastern immigrants in the US have reached an estimated 2.5 million.
Within this body of immigrants we have already found terror cells, terror finance operations and those who support fundamentalist ideas. We have also seen that that Muslim support of America’s War on Terror has been weak at best. There have been a few letters to newspapers, sound bites on television news and interviews with Muslim leaders going through the motions of expressing sorrow at the loss of 3,000 innocent lives and emotionless words of encouragement to the people of America. Missing has been any real expression of outrage at any terrorist act.
Now our own government, in an attempt to be politically correct says, “We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with terror!” A nation cannot be at war with an “outcome”. Terror is an outcome of militant Islam.
With all of these things unfolding, included is a movement to modify the English language. We are being told that it is not a preaching of Islam to hate. They even tell us that Islam really means “peace”. This is a new definition by any stretch. What Islam means is “submission.” It is the objective of Islam to have all non-believers submit. If they will not do so willingly, they will be forced into submission.
We cannot speak for those countries in Europe, but there is one thing all Islamists should quickly learn about America….We don’t submit to anyone.
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