Will Europe Put Its Foot Down?

We [Europe] need to stand up and preserve our culture – a successful culturethat is itself the only reason why immigrants are streaming from theMuslim world to our continent rather than in the other direction.

“Either Islam will be Europeanized, or Europe will be Islamized.” In recent years this prediction has been made by many major experts,among them the American Bernard Lewis, the Syrian-born German Bassam Tibi, and the French Gilles Kepel. This is, without question, an uncomfortable and sensitive topic, butit’s one that is very pertinent now that the Swiss have put their footdown and said that they will not accept another minaret within theirborders.

In recent decades, Islam has exploded in Europe.  You can see thechanges with your own eyes from year to year – whether it’s theincreasing presence of hijabs on the street in a city like Oslo, or thebearded men with ankle-high baggy pants, or the new and resplendentmosques that are under construction. 
For my part, I’ve noticed an increasing insecurity and unease among“ordinary” people who feel like aliens in their own country.  Peopleask: what is the purpose of this project?  Don’t we, as a nation, havea right to pass our own cultural legacy, our traditions and values, onto our children and grandchildren?

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2009-12-09