Intro: European society has started discussing issues in public, ranging from Mosque funding to hiring Clerics, immigration, integration of Islamic Societies with native, European Society feel that Muslims should adapt to native society.
Study of various polls across Europe reveals that the majority of European nations are worried about the fact that Muslims find it difficult to adapt with local culture; native people also started expressing their concern over Muslim immigrations to Europe. Polls’ result also indicates that now more and more European citizens have started expressing their views publically regarding “Muslims’ assimilation with Local culture”. They seemed to be worried about the loss of their own national identity if Islam fails to adapt with local society.
In Charlie Hebdo gunfire on the morning of January 7, 2015 two gunmen killed eleven people, injured eleven others during their assault; five others were killed and another eleven were injured in interconnected shootings that followed in the Île-de-France (literally, Island of France) region. This inhumane act is the tip of the iceberg; this is the start of an explosion in European society which has been ignored since decades. Islamic radicals spread throughout the European society wanted its distinct laws and society to Muslim community which creates trouble with native; another major factor which adds problems to European society is immigration of Muslims to Europe. Radicals even attacked the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper in Hamburg, Germany which republished cartoons from the Charlie Hebdo. German police have evidence “that key European cities could be attacked at any time.”—Der Spiegel. “This is a serious situation.”—German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. In a video Jihadist regime threatened Italy with dire consequences-“You will pay the price as you walk on your streets, turning right and left, fearing the Muslims. We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women, by the permission of Allah.”
Regarding violence in Germany the “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West [PEGIDA]” categorically stated on its facebook page that “The Islamists… showed France that they are incapable of democracy and rather look to violence and death as an answer! Our politicians want us to believe the opposite. Must such a tragedy happen here in Germany first?” In response to violent methods PEGIDA offshoots are also emerging across Germany, including: Bavaria, Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Kassel, Leipzig, Rostock, Südthüringen and Würzburg. The emergence of new organisation against radical Islam indicates that the native people are worried about the Muslims in European society. They are worried about increasing violence, immigration and increasing population.
Factors affecting European Society: Muslim Population in Europe
In the survey “The Future of the Global Muslim Population Projections for 2010-2030” Pew research clearly stated that the fertility rate of women is directly related to the level of Education. The average fertility rate is 5.0 children per women where they receive very rare schooling as compared to 2.3 children per woman where they receive more formal schooling.
The number of Muslims in Europe has grown from 29.6 million in 1990 to 44.1 million in 2010. Europe’s Muslim population is projected to exceed 58 million by 2030. Muslims today account for about 6 per cent of Europe’s total population, up from 4.1 per cent in 1990. By 2030, Muslims are expected to make up 8 per cent of Europe’s population. Although Europe’s Muslim population is growing, Europe’s share of the global Muslim population will remain quite small. Less than 3 per cent of the world’s Muslims are expected to be living in Europe in 2030, about the same portion as in 2010 (2.7 per cent).
Population is one of the major factors which are affecting the European society; there are suburbs which are “No-Go” zones.
Factors affecting European Society: No-Go Zones
No-Go zones are Muslims dominated areas in European society where non-Muslim finds restrictions due to lawlessness to insecurity. Soeren Kern documented about the “No-Go” zones in his series, “European 'No-Go' Zones: Fact or Fiction?” in first part he covered the France.
Fabrice Balanche, a well-known French Islam scholar who teaches at the University of Lyon, recently told Radio Television Suisse: “You have territories in France such as Roubaix, such as northern Marseille, where police will not step foot, where the authority of state is completely absent, where mini Islamic states have been formed.”
Factors affecting European Society: Muslim immigration to Europe
‘Migration is the major factor in the growth of Muslim Population in Europe’ writes Pew research forum. As per report published by Pew research forum under the title “Muslim-Western Tensions Persist” relations between Europeans and Muslims are bad: France (62 per cent), Germany (61 per cent), Spain (58per cent) and Britain (52 per cent).The Pew forum survey also indicated that majority of non-Muslim believes that Muslims in the countries are willing to be discrete from native society; as per survey results 72 per cent people in Germany, 69 per cent in Spain, 66 per cent in Russia, 52 per cent in Britain, 51 per cent in USA and 54 per cent in France.
The report also indicated that Islam seen as violent religion by Israel (63 per cent), Spain (63 per cent), Germany (59 per cent), the US (54 per cent) and Britain (52 per cent), and a 39 per cent in Russia. Non-Muslims in Spain (80 per cent), Germany (68 per cent), Russia (64 per cent) and France (52 per cent) say Muslims are fanatical, arrogant and violent.
In an another survey under its aegis of Pew Forum named “Pew Global Attitudes Project “ 82 per cent of French, 71 per cent of Germans, 62 per cent of Britons and 59 per cent of Spanish people wanted ban on Islamic veils.
In another survey, “Guardian Euro Poll” Europeans expressed grave concern over Muslim immigration to Europe; however 62 per cent of the people in survey identify themselves as “Liberal” rather than “Right”.
Briton conducted poll regarding how British population thinks about Nation state politics, as per poll most of the people thought to support a national party with strong anti-immigration agenda. The poll also show that 50 per cent of British population expressed that “Muslims create problems in UK”.
One such poll conducted by Le Monde newspaper in France, the result shows that 42 per cent French consider Muslim community specially migrated community as threat to their national identity. French also believed that Muslims were not integrated with French Society.
One of the surveys conducted by Ifop showed that nearly 40 per cent of French voters believed that integration of Muslim Community with French society failed and they viewed Marine Le Pen as most suitable candidate to fix the Muslim immigration problem.
Opinion Survey conducted by sociology department of the University of Munster in collaboration with TNS Emnid showed that majority of Germans disagree with their president that “Islam belongs to Germany”. In similar way overwhelming majority in Netherlands support ban on Islamic burqas in public places. According to Maurice de Hond pol, 74 per cent of the natives say that immigrants should adapt to native values.
In separate survey published by news site ‘NU.nl’ shows that 63 per cent of Dutch are “worried about the increasing influence of Islam in Western Europe”.
In Demark similar vibes like Germany felt by majority of natives, as per survey published by Berlingske newspaper shows that 92 per cent Danish people want that Muslim immigrants should adapt to the local customs.
Let me cite the views of Soren Pind the Danish integration minister during 2011 “Soren Pind looks Danish attitude as “an expression of reality.” “When you come to Denmark, you come naturally to Denmark to be Danish, and it must be words in general do not stand in their way,” said the minister, referring to the word assimilation, as he launched the debate recently. “I just think that 92 per cent of Danes those foreigners must live by the Danish norms that characterize Danish democracy,” he said.
Factors affecting European Society: Sharia across the Europe
The British Islamist leader Anjem Choudary demands for Sharia in various countries or happened to be brain behind such demands. Islamist apologetic may rubbish his claims or may proclaim that Choudary does not represent Islam. But it is grim reality that sizeable portion of the Muslim population in Briton or in other countries is followers Choudary. “In the Quran it is not allowed for you to feel sorry for non-Muslims. I don't feel sorry for him.” “Eventually the whole world will be governed by Sharia and Muslims will have authority over China, Russia, USA etc. This is the promise of Allah.”—”Under the Quran the sale of alcohol is prohibited and if one were to also drink alcohol that would be given 40 lashes.” “We (Muslims) take the Jizya, which is ours anyway. The normal situation is to take money from the kuffar (non-Muslim). They give us the money. You work, give us the money, Allahu Akbar. We take the money.”—Anjem Choudary.
Switzerland: Land of Jihad
Swiss lawmakers demanded to ban the jihadist Islamic state from operating in Switzerland. The wakeup call for ban is in response to IS established network inside Swiss territory. According to a report published by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) the clandestine groups provide financial, logistics and propaganda support to establish an Islamic theocracy state in the Middle East.
Sharia Law Court in Belgium
Sharia, 4 Belgium, a radical Islamic group had established a Sharia court in Antwerp the second largest city in Belgium. In a report senior fellow Soeren Kern of Gatestone institute wrote “Muslims make up around 10per cent of Antwerp's population, and the city has long been a hotbed of radical Islam. According to some estimates, more than half of the mosques in Antwerp are controlled by Muslim extremists groups, including the fundamentalist Deobandi sect, which promotes Jihad and hatred for Western society.”
One of the leading members of Vlaams Belang Filip Dewinter said, “The establishment of courts is a new step in the Islamisation of Antwerp.” Dewinter points out that the Constitution grants the Dispute Settlement monopoly on the judiciary. “There can certainly be no question of that besides the official court order develops a parallel system of sharia courts that judges on the basis of principles which clash with the values of our democratic state,” said the Vlaams Belang headpiece.
Austria Sharia Law Vs Civil Law
Austrian government updated century old Islam Law (Islamgesetz) and presented as draft bill to the parliament on October 2; the updated law would regulated the training and hiring of Muslim clerics, foreign funding to mosque and version of Quran in Austria. In an interview the Austrian Minister for Integration and Foreign Affairs, Sebastian Kurz, said the rapid rise of Islam in Austria has rendered the old Islam Law obsolete. The main aim of new law is to establish the law of nation as supreme rather than religious laws.
In a report by Soeren Kern titled, Europe: You Are Entering a Sharia Controlled Zone Hezbollah Pitches Tent in Denmark”, Kern wrote “A Muslim group in Denmark has launched a campaign to turn parts of Copenhagen and other Danish cities into “Sharia Law Zones” that would function as autonomous enclaves ruled by Islamic law. The Danish Islamist group Kaldet til Islam (Call to Islam) says the Tingbjerg suburb of Copenhagen will be the first part of Denmark to be subject to Sharia law, followed by the Norrebro district of the capital and then other parts of the country, the center-right Jyllands-Posten newspaper reported on October 17.” The Islamic Emirates Project under the leadership of Anjem Choudary running on the streets of Briton. Joachim Wagner a German Legal expert who authored “Judges Without Law: Islamic Parallel Justice Endangers Our Constitutional State” said that, Islamic Sharia courts now established in almost every big city. The radical Islamic groups creating parallel justice system across the Germany. In France too Sharia courts are growing rapidly and as per report Banlieue de la Republique (Suburbs of the Republic) says that French suburbs becoming “Separate Islamic states”. In Spain, Salafi preachers setting up Sharia courts and Religious police to monitor and punish those who don’t comply with Sharia laws.
European Response to Stealth Jihad: The only response is to discuss the issue in general public and European doing it very well European society started discussing issues in public ranging from Mosque funding to hiring clerics, immigration, integration of Islamic societies with native; European society feels that Muslim should adapt to native society.
Indian Analogy with Europe
Will India learn from impact of Islam on Europe? Will our politician start debating on issues of Muslim integration with native population? Will Secular Politicians or Secular intellectuals will take Muslim infiltration seriously and help anyone who wants to solve the issue? Will they learn from the fact that today the one of the precarious problem faced by European society is immigration of Muslims? Will our secular politician learn from the fact that Muslim integration with native culture is the biggest issues faced by advanced (as per Indian secular intellectual’s parlance) societies like Europe?
Two biggest problems India is facing are the influx of Muslim population in India through infiltration and fertility rate of Muslims woman which is higher as compared to non-Muslim women. Few other factors which are predominant in growth of Muslim population in India are educational level of Muslim women and employment. Lower educational level of Muslim women contributes to their high fertility rate whereas higher employment rate of non-Muslim women are associated with lower fertility rate.
Another factor which will affect India is increasing support to radical organizations in India and abroad among Muslim society. Recently a Muslim youth had been arrested in Bengaluru for running pro-ISIS twitter account. There are many cases in which Muslim youth even joined the ISIS in order to establish their rule. Events in last decades show that most of the radical Muslim organisations are controlled from outside the country; mother organisations from foreign lands provide them propaganda, logistics and financial support whereas insider support provided to them by Secular intellectuals and vote bank politics. Let us accept it up front that we are facing similar issues like a European society; both societies have intellectuals who debunk the real issues as “Urban Legends” in Europe or “Myth created by Hindu Nationalist” in Indian context. But we need to learn from Europe as they succeeded in bringing the issue among the general public for discussion which is missing in India.
Hitesh Rangra (The writer is a political commentator and social media analyst)
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