(Susan
MacAllen is a contributing editor
for (FamilySecurityMatters
org)
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 - and
its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious.
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.
The New York Post in 2002 ran an article by Daniel Pipes and Lars
Hedegaard, in which they
forecasted accurately
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
finds 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 (as
they do in every country that they adopt)- 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
the U.S : 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.) Hey dont all left wingers come
out with this, their aim is to mix up the races throughtout the
western countries to cause us to not only loose our identity but our
Christianity and way of life, then we are easier to control, Marxism
said that...
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, (as is the same world wide), 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, (which muslims
have said that they would deliberately do). '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,'
Hvilshøj 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, 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, Americans 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
America
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.