Growing European Concerns about Muslim Migrants: Their Faith and Their Culture Isolates Muslims from the Host Community When They Should Be Building Bridges
By Irfan Husain
February
16th, 2015
For
the last couple of months, weekly anti-Muslim demonstrations have been taking
place in several German cities. Led by Pegida, the acronym for its German name
of Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of Europe, the protests began
in Dresden and have spread to other cities.
These
marches have attracted counter-protests that often outnumber the anti-Muslim
demonstrators. Oddly, only 0.5 per cent of Dresden’s population is Muslim. And
although a demo in Leipzig drew 25,000 marchers, the numbers have fallen since.
One reason is that the leader of the movement, Lutz Bachmann, was revealed to
be a closet neo-Nazi when a photograph of him with a Hitler moustache and
haircut surfaced.
Even
though many German Muslims are of Turkish origin who mostly speak German and
are fairly well integrated, it is the new wave of asylum seekers from Syria who
have caused alarm.
And
while Europeans as a whole tend to be uncomfortable about the presence of
Muslims living in their midst, they forget that countries like Lebanon, Jordan,
Turkey and Pakistan are hosts to far larger numbers of refugees. In fact, one
in four of those living in Lebanon today is a Syrian refugee.
Although
these protests show signs of dying down, disquiet over the rising Muslim
presence in Europe is growing. A few days ago, almost all British newspapers
carried front-page stories to inform readers that the Muslim population in
England and Wales had nearly doubled in ten years, rising from 1.55 million in
2001 to 2.71 million in 2011.
But
more than its size, it is the composition of the population that is causing
concern in Britain: 1 in 3 Muslims is under 15 years of age, compared with 1 in
5 overall; and 4pc of Muslims are over 65 compared with 16pc overall. These
numbers translate into a relatively young cohort, many of whom will be reaching
reproductive age soon. Given the generally larger size of Muslim families, many
fear that the numbers will keep rising at a higher rate than the general
population.
Although
only one Briton in 20 is Muslim, the public perception is that the numbers are
four times this figure. One reason for this skewed estimate is that the Muslims
are a very visible minority who tend to congregate in urban areas. An
increasing number of Muslim girls and women have taken to covering themselves
either in headscarves or in full burqas or niqabs, while the men often sport
long, easily identifiable beards.
And
while other migrants generally dress like locals and blend in, Muslims tend to
stay apart, with religious and cultural factors perpetuating this divide. Every
few weeks, incidents to do with the sexual exploitation of young white girls,
alleged terror plots, or the willingness of many young Muslims to join the
Islamic State enhances the negative image many Brits have of Muslims and Islam.
If
growing numbers of Britons, with all their tolerance, can feel this hostility,
then things are far worse in much of Europe. In France, the recent Charlie
Hebdo killings have boosted the right-wing, Islamophobic Front National’s poll
ratings. As it is, widespread dissatisfaction with immigration policies has
made the party a force to reckon with.
From
Sweden to Netherland, anti-Muslim sentiments are rising, fed by images of
horrors committed by organisations like Boko Haram, the Islamic State and the
Taliban. Hardly have the images of one atrocity faded that another is headline
news. This steady barrage of horror stories, combined with the perception that
Muslims in Europe constitute a fifth column prone to join extremists groups and
attack the host communities, has hardened attitudes. Now, even liberal
politicians need to toughen their stance on immigration to address widely held
public concerns.
One
result of growing prejudice is to make it harder for young Muslims to get jobs.
In France, Muslim unemployment goes up to over 40pc in some areas. In Britain,
only 20pc are in full time employment, compared with 35pc overall. But then
18pc of Muslim women are at home, while only 6pc of British women fall in the
category of full-time housewives. And while 24pc of all Muslims are educated to
degree level, the figure is 44pc for Hindus.
Housing
is another issue that divides the communities. Relatively few Muslims live in
homes they own, with the majority in assisted housing. Some council estates are
breeding grounds for crime, with gangs fighting each other in vicious turf
wars. Racism is rife, and bullying common. In these conditions, many Muslim
kids band together for protection; some of them are then radicalised in local
mosques or online.
In
countries across Europe, the link between poverty, unemployment, overcrowded
ghettos and Islamic radicalism has been well established. But there are no easy
answers. The reality is that nobody planned this influx or encouraged it. But
laws regarding the right to asylum, and to bring in spouses, have opened the
door to growing numbers of legal immigrants. And then of course there are
illegal ways that involve people smugglers and dangerous routes.
In a
2013 poll conducted by the British Social Attitudes, 62pc of those surveyed
said they were worried that an increasing Muslim population would weaken
Britain’s national identity. In 2003, 48pc voiced a similar concern. And an
online survey conducted by The Daily Telegraph suggests that 88pc of its
readers are worried by the presence of large numbers of Muslims. However, the
Telegraph is a right-wing newspaper, so many of its readers would tend to be
anti-immigration.
Muslims
in Europe are thus caught between a rock and a hard place. Their faith and
their culture sets them apart from the host community. This isolates them and
erects walls at a time when they should be building bridges.
Source:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1163806/view-from-abroad-growing-european-concerns-about-muslim-migrants