Muslims in Europe

From Germany, Christopher Jones, who has strong feelings about Europe, takes issue with Shireen Hunter's latest book, Islam, Europe's Second Religion: "I have never read anything so outrageous. Muslims have NO place in Europe. European countries are not "Einwanderungslander." They are not "melting pots," like Canada or Australia. It is a terrible shame for all of us in Germany that those 9/11 criminals were living here . (The fault of the SPD/Green government immigration policies or lack of them). What we should discuss is the immigration of Eastern Europeans into western Europe, in particular, Jews from Russia and others from Ukraine, Moldavia and Albania that have sent the crime rate skyrocketing. These alone have broken the back of the social welfare system in Europe as we know it. Western European countries cannot encourage immigration because there is simply no physical place for these people. There are no "up scale" jobs for these Muslims. Germany and France, (your so called "Axis of Weasels") already suffer from very high unemployment and they will always remain second class citizens -- semi slaves -- so why come here and be miserable and make us miserable? I think we should realize that the Islamic religion is an authentic retarded religion which is stunted in the Middle Ages. Do I need to write about women obligated to cover their heads or worse, female circumcision? Is this what this individual wants for Europe??

The country which has borne the brunt of Muslim illegals (I like that term) is Spain. Most work in the hot houses of Almeria and were targeted by Spanish rightists in El Ejido after a Moroccan killed a Spanish woman. Many were hurt and typically for "Reconquista" Spain, the investigations into the riots have failed to produce a single prosecution. The living conditions of these Islamic "slaves" is abominable. An article in El País pointed out that most Maghrebi immigrants are fooled by Sat TV in their home countries. It is a really pitiful experience to be confronted with these extremely poor families, whose elders as a rule never speak a word of a West European language.

But you mentioned the Turks. Here is another variation of this problem which is in reality a cancer. Most Turkish parents who come to Germany come from the extremely poor areas of Anatolia. They regularly send their kids back home to finish their version of high school in Turkey, depriving these youngsters of the possibility to learn the language properly. Germany's disastrous showing in the PISA study is a direct result of German youngsters in mixed classes with semi illiterate Turks who speak their own patois "Kanakendeutsch."

It is very easy for some caviar and champagne refugee from the Golestan palace to ask for "affirmative action" for Europe's Islamic immigrants. Why didn't she try some affirmative action out on her own country: Iran? (I know my way around in Iranian affairs: I accompanied the Imam Khomeini throughout his stay in Neauphle le Chateau (With 2 one on ones) and was invited by Ahmed Khomeini, Ibrahim Yazdhi and Sadeq Ghotzadeh to take a seat on the Air France flight which brought the Ayatollah back to Tehran.)

Why didn't this shining light of academia open her mouth then try and save her people from bloodshed, executions and catastrophe after the Shah was overthrown? It would have saved us all the problems we now have in Iraq".

RH: I have toned down Christopher's message, but it is evident that he and Shireen Hunter disagree. Coming back to the problem of Latin American illegal immigrants in the US, it frequently turns out that these misguided individuals paid $1,000 or more to the criminals who promised to smuggle them into the US. There are many cases of poor Old World immigrants to Mexico who have prospered and become rich. Many of these illegal immigrants to the US could have done likewise. They suffered from "the American illusion", just as many Muslims suffer from "the European illusion".

Ronald Hilton - 2/4/03