Islam - Jihad in Europe

Mark Steyn says old Europe is dying under the weight of Muslim immigrants.

For what it's worth, I incline to the latter position. Europe's problems -- its unaffordable social programs, its deathbed demographics, its dependence on immigration numbers that no stable nation (not even America in the Ellis Island era) has ever successfully absorbed -- are all of Europe's making. By some projections, the EU's population will be 40 percent Muslim by 2025. Already, more people each week attend Friday prayers at British mosques than Sunday service at Christian churches -- and in a country where Anglican bishops have permanent seats in the national legislature.

Germany's Die Welt newspaper has similar thoughts.

Is Europe giving way to blackmail? The question was raised in Germany last month by an article in Die Welt, the country's most heavyweight paper, by Mathias Dúpfner, head of the big Axel Springer publishing group. He titled it Europe — Thy Name Is Cowardice. He said that a crusade is under way "by fanatic Muslims, focused on civilians, directed against our free, open western societies" that is set upon the "utter destruction" of western civilisation. This enemy, he said, was spurred on by "tolerance" and "accommodation", which were taken as signs of weakness. Europe's supine response, he said, was on a par with the appeasement of Hitler.

Indeed, Germany is in the middle of an immigration scandal whose policies are already having deadly consequences.

As for appeasement, Britain is adopting Sharia Law in an attempt to placate British Muslims.

But just as with Hitler, appeasement will never work.

Some radical Muslims in Britain are openly declaring war on their host country. Britain's response? Release suspected terrorists.

They are alleged to be the most dangerous men in Britain. Some among them have been found to "provide active support to a network of extreme Islamists planning attacks in the UK and Western Europe, including the use of toxic poisons". Others have actively raised funds for terrorist operations, trained so that they can take part in them, and have exhorted and encouraged others to do so.

So what is the ultimate goal of these radical Muslims?

Melanie Phillips says "the driving force behind these Islamists was the desire to retake Andalucia as an important part of the medieval Islamic caliphate."

How bad are things getting? The Dutch are pulling up stakes and leaving in droves.

Many who settle abroad may not appear in migration statistics, like the growing contingent of retirees who flock to warmer places. But official statistics show a trend. In 1999, nearly 30,000 native Dutch moved elsewhere, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. For 2004, the provisional figure is close to 40,000. "It's definitely been picking up in the past five years," said Cor Kooijmans, a demographer at the bureau.

But is anywhere safe? Internet Haganah reports that increasingly radical Muslims are using the internet to hunt down Christians.

On a free website at a datacenter in New York, on a server operated by a company in Quebec, we have found evidence that Islamists continue to gather information in an effort to hunt down Christians who participate in online chatrooms (presumably at PalTalk).

Obviously appeasement and flight are not options.

There are some small signs that people may be waking up to the problem.

The Dutch are deporting imams due to national security concerns.

In France, where the US is loudly condemned for Guantanamo, recently released French citizens from Guantanamo have been locked up without charge for up to four years.

There they have remained without charge or public protest – and may stay so for up to four years – in a legal limbo not much different from that which they experienced in Camp Delta. Mr Chirac, it turns out, just preferred them to be in French rather than American custody.

Small potatoes in a region where up to 30 major terrorist attacks have been prevented since 9/11.

As more people become aware of the danger, watch for immigration to be a political hot potato in upcomming elections.

UPDATE

Norway and Denmark are already on it.

Newspaper Aftenposten reported over the weekend that Norwegian politicians are considering requiring a deposit of NOK 50,000 (about USD 8,500) from would-be tourists who come from countries where visa are still required. That includes Russia, India, China and African nations, among many others.
The proposal calls for companies or persons who invite visitors from non-visa-exempt countries to Norway to put up a financial guarantee, basically that they'll go home again. If the visitor seeks asylum, the deposit would go straight into the state treasury.

The idea stems from Denmark, which has instituted several measures in recent years to crack down on immigration. Even though both of the women who married into Denmark's royal family came from foreign countries, it's not easy for others to obtain permanent residence in the country.

Sweden is starting to notice.

In Sweden, the immigrant cohort is comparable to the record-high proportion of immigrants in the United States before World War I -- when many already had been assimilated during decades of performing industrial work suited to anyone with a strong back. Such employment is not readily available in a post-industrial workers paradise.

Malmo, if demographic predictions are to be believed, will be "not Swedish" by mid-century, which would be fine if the people are working and law-abiding. But as Sweden is drowning in welfare costs, how will capital formation leading to jobs occur?

Sweden's troubles are not unique in Europe or to parts of the United States. But they are instructive.

When one sets the table for a "free lunch," there will be takers. But what happens if you can't, or won't, offer it every day?

Will Britain wake up?
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