8.16.2005
America's Muslim Ghettos (WashingtonPost.com)
By Salam Al-Marayati
Monday, August 15, 2005; Page A15
Reports that the culprits in the London terrorist attacks were in fact homegrown British Muslim lads are reverberating throughout the U.S. Muslim community. They are forcing Muslims to focus on how to prevent such incidents in this country. The way to do this, it is clear, is to combat the Muslim-ghetto mentality that is proliferating in Western countries these days. This has so far been mostly a European phenomenon, but it could easily take root here.
The word "ghetto" comes from the name of the island near Venice where Italian Jews were made to live in the 16th century. A ghetto is a section of a city occupied by a minority group whose people live there largely because of social, economic or legal pressure. Make no mistake: British Muslims are by and large living under such conditions. And it should come as no surprise that residents living in isolated, homogenous pockets -- such as Leeds, where the suspects resided -- do not feel a sense of belonging to their nation or the West. Social and economic isolation of minority communities makes them more prone to political and religious radicalization.
Throughout Europe, cultural barriers separate Muslim ghettos from mainstream society. In general, European Muslims belong to the underclass. British Muslims are mostly Indo-Pakistani; French Muslims are largely Algerian, Belgian Muslims are immigrants from Morocco, etc. In many of these countries where Muslim populations are largely homogenous, the forces of isolation are stronger than the forces of integration, partly because of the socioeconomic status of Muslim communities throughout Europe and partly because of self-imposed isolation.
In the United States, it has been a different picture and a different reality. Because American Muslims are relatively more educated and affluent than European Muslims, they are typically far more interested in integrating into mainstream society. That American Muslims do not have a "ghetto problem" may be one reason U.S. officials consider al Qaeda more of a threat in Europe than within the United States.
(More ... America's Muslim Ghettos) ¶ 19:46
Monday, August 15, 2005; Page A15
Reports that the culprits in the London terrorist attacks were in fact homegrown British Muslim lads are reverberating throughout the U.S. Muslim community. They are forcing Muslims to focus on how to prevent such incidents in this country. The way to do this, it is clear, is to combat the Muslim-ghetto mentality that is proliferating in Western countries these days. This has so far been mostly a European phenomenon, but it could easily take root here.
The word "ghetto" comes from the name of the island near Venice where Italian Jews were made to live in the 16th century. A ghetto is a section of a city occupied by a minority group whose people live there largely because of social, economic or legal pressure. Make no mistake: British Muslims are by and large living under such conditions. And it should come as no surprise that residents living in isolated, homogenous pockets -- such as Leeds, where the suspects resided -- do not feel a sense of belonging to their nation or the West. Social and economic isolation of minority communities makes them more prone to political and religious radicalization.
Throughout Europe, cultural barriers separate Muslim ghettos from mainstream society. In general, European Muslims belong to the underclass. British Muslims are mostly Indo-Pakistani; French Muslims are largely Algerian, Belgian Muslims are immigrants from Morocco, etc. In many of these countries where Muslim populations are largely homogenous, the forces of isolation are stronger than the forces of integration, partly because of the socioeconomic status of Muslim communities throughout Europe and partly because of self-imposed isolation.
In the United States, it has been a different picture and a different reality. Because American Muslims are relatively more educated and affluent than European Muslims, they are typically far more interested in integrating into mainstream society. That American Muslims do not have a "ghetto problem" may be one reason U.S. officials consider al Qaeda more of a threat in Europe than within the United States.
(More ... America's Muslim Ghettos) ¶ 19:46
