Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Western Freedom

Susan MacAllen

In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark. But in 1978 - even in
Copenhagen, one didn't see Muslim immigrants.

The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic, went out of its way to protect each of its citizens. It was proud of its new brand of socialist liberalism one in development since the conservatives had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to survive,where one ultimately could count upon the
state as in, perhaps, no other western nation at the time. The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking,progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies.
Denmark boasted low crime rates, devotion to the environment, a
superior educational system and a history of humanitarianism.

Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it
offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant: generous
welfare payments from first arrival plus additional perks in
transportation, housing and education. It was determined to set a
world example for inclusiveness and multiculturalism. How could it
have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of political cartoons in
a newspaper would spark violence that would leave dozens dead in
the streets -all because its commitment to multiculturalism would come
back to bite?

By the 1990's the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - as was
its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society. Years of
immigrants had settled into Muslim-exclusive enclaves. As the Muslim
leadership became more vocal about what they considered the decadence
of Denmark 's liberal way of life, the Danes - once so welcoming -
began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as
incompatible with their long-standing values: belief in personal
liberty and free speech, in
equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep
pride in Danish heritage and history.

An article by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard, in which they
accurately forecast, that the growing immigrant problem in Denmark
would explode. In the article they reported:

'Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume
upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending.' 'Muslims are only 4
percent of Denmark's 5..4 million people but make up a majority of
the country's convicted rapists, an especially combustible issue
given that practically all the female victims are non-Muslim. Similar,
if lesser, disproportions are found in other crimes.'

'Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish less
to mix with the indigenous population. A recent survey found that only
5 percent of young Muslim immigrants would readily marry a Dane.'

'Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a male
cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him,
sometimes on pain of death - are one problem'

'Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic law
once Denmark's Muslim population grows large enough - a
not-that-remote prospect.. If present trends persist, one sociologist
estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim.'

It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel that
Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws.
An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and
Canada: some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith
have been murdered in the name of Islam, while others hide in fear for
their lives. Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim
leaders in Denmark, a country where once Christian citizens worked
to smuggle out nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden -
before the Nazis could invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa -
who, as a teenager, had dreaded crossing the street to the bakery
every morning under the eyes of occupying Nazi soldiers - and I
wonder what she would say today.

In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some 70
years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about
liberal, unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest
immigration policies in Europe . ( Its effort to protect itself
has been met with accusations of 'racism' by liberal media across
Europe - even as other governments struggle to right the social
problems wrought by years of too-lax immigration.)

If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of language
classes. You must pass a test on Denmark 's history, culture, and a
Danish language test .

You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for citizenship.

You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job waiting. If you
wish to bring a spouse into Denmark , you must both be over 24
years of age, and you won't find it so easy anymore to move your
friends and family to Denmark with you.

You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen . Although
your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language
schools in Denmark , they will be strongly encouraged to
assimilate to Danish society in ways that past immigrants weren't.

In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen,
spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the Danish
welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government's welfare
committee had calculated that if immigration from Third World
countries were blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the
huge welfare system in coming decades would be unnecessary. In other
words, the welfare system, as it existed, was being exploited by
immigrants to the point of eventually bankrupting the government.
'We are simply forced to adopt a new policy on immigration'.

'The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show how
unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now,' he
said.

A large thorn in the side of Denmark 's imams is the Minister of
Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj.. She makes no bones about
the new policy toward immigration, 'The number of foreigners coming
to the country makes a difference,' Hvilshoj says, 'There is an
inverse correlation between how many come here and how well we can
receive the foreigners that come' And on Muslim immigrants needing
to demonstrate a willingness to blend in, 'In my view, Denmark
should be a country with room for different cultures and religions.
Some values, however, are more important than others. We refuse to
question democracy, equal rights, < I> and freedom of speech.'

Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone.. Perhaps to test
her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark, Ahmed Abdel Rahman
Abu Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the
family of a Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen,
stating that the family's thirst for revenge could be thwarted for
money. When Hvilshoj dismissed his demand, he argued that in Muslim
culture the payment of retribution money was common, to which
Hvilshoj replied that what is done in a Muslim country is not
necessarily what is done in Denmark.

The Muslim reply came soon after: her house was torched while she, her
husband and children slept. All managed to escape unharmed, but she
and her family were moved to a secret location and she and other
ministers were assigned bodyguards for the first time - in a country
where such murderous violence was once so scarce..

Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have tightened.
Many believe that what happens in the next decade will determine
whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking
and social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil
war with supporters of Sharia law.

And meanwhile, Canadians clamor for stricter immigration policies, and
demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants
to live on the public dole. As we in Canada look at the enclaves of
Muslims amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily,
dare live on our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our
traditions, participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak
our language, appreciate our history
.. we would do well to look to Denmark , and say a prayer for her future and
for our own..

http://www.fsmarchives.org/article.php?id=1172085

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