Author: Thomas Landen
Publication: Hudsonny.org
Date: August 27, 2009
URL: http://www.hudsonny.org/2009/08/eurabian-safari.php
It is hot in Brussels. Ramadan has begun.
The faithful in the predominantly Muslim borough of Molenbeek are not allowed
to eat or drink from sunrise until sunset. Non-Muslim policemen, patrolling
the streets of Molenbeek in their sweltering cars, are not allowed to eat
or drink either. As every year during Ramadan, that they have been told by
their superior, Philippe Moureaux, the Socialist mayor of Molenbeek, they
have to respect Muslim sensitivities and not to "provoke" Muslims
by violating Islamic Ramadan restrictions in public. In effect, Islamic or
Sharia law is already applied - for everyone - in the Muslim areas of Brussels.
Barely two miles from Molenbeek lies Brussels'
European district. One of its huge glass and concrete buildings is the European
Parliament where the elected representatives from the 27 members states of
the European Union (EU) convene. The 736 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament)
have just returned from their summer break. They are mostly unaware of life
in Molenbeek. Most of them never go to that part of the city. It is probably
a sensible decision, because Molenbeek is known to be unsafe for non-Muslims.
Nevertheless, it is a shame that Europe's politicians are unaware of day-to-day
life just around the corner. It means that most of the 736 MEPs, who make
up the second largest democratically elected assembly in the world (after
India), do not know what life really is like in an ever growing section of
Europe's urban areas. A walking tour of Molenbeek should be compulsory for
every MEP.
Some friends in Brussels organize one-hour
trips through Molenbeek. They go in an inconspicuous car, driven by a local
who knows the escape routes, and with a bodyguard. Otherwise the risk would
be too great. These trips are called "safaris." Similar "Eurabia
Safaris" are organized in other European cities. One of the highlights
- though absolutely not the most dangerous one - of the safari in Rosengaard,
the Muslim section of the Swedish city of Malmö, is a short stop, to
give the visitor the opportunity to take a quick snapshot, in front of Malmö's
"Jihadskörkortsteori" (Jihad Driving School).
The Sharia areas of Europe are expanding
rapidly across Western Europe. While currently still restricted to what the
French officially call the ZUS (zones urbaines sensibles - sensitive urban
areas) these areas are growing fast. Even today, eight million of the sixty
million inhabitants of France already live in one of the country's 751 ZUS.
The month of Ramadan is traditionally the
most dangerous time of the year in Europe's sensitive areas. After sunset,
the Ramadan ban on eating, drinking and engaging in sexual activities expires
until the following sunrise. Ramadan is a period of nightly feasts for Muslims.
Young Muslims are extremely touchy. These feasts easily spill over into nightly
spasms of mayhem, vandalism, and violence. Europe's Ramadan riots often go
on for days or weeks, during which hundreds of cars, shops and public buildings
are set on fire.
In Muslim countries, such as Indonesia, the
police step up patrols during Ramadan in order to crack down on illegal nightly
activities. In Europe, however, the police have been given orders to adopt
an extra-low profile not to "provoke" Muslim populations. In countries
such as Britain, police officers have had to attend "Ramadan awareness"
courses. They have even been ordered, "for reasons of religious sensitivity,"
to avoid the execution of arrest warrants for Muslims during the month of
Ramadan. During Ramadan, Europe is a tinder box.
The most widely reported Ramadan riots so
far, which were even covered by the American press, took place in France in
2005. Since the 2005 riots, the French authorities have asked the media not
to report about waves of violent unrest in the ZUS - a request which the media
seem to have followed. During the 2005 Ramadan riots, several sociologists
suggested that polygamy was one of the reasons for the large-scale rioting
in Muslim communities among youths who lack a father figure. This theory seemed
to have impressed France's political leaders. Gérard Larcher, then
France's employment minister and currently the president of the French Senate,
explained to the Financial Times (Nov. 15, 2005) that multiple marriages among
immigrants lead to anti-social behavior, such as criminal activity. Bernard
Accoyer, a leading parliamentarian of France's governing UMP and currently
the president of the French National Assembly (France's Congress), said that
children from large polygamous families have problems integrating into mainstream
society.
As the Financial Times warned, however, at
the time, "Mr Larcher's comments could further fuel the debate and are
likely to outrage Muslim and anti-racism groups." Apparently, the French
government was of the same opinion; it did not follow-up the words of Messrs.
Larcher and Accoyer with a clampdown on polygamy. Having multiple wives is
illegal under French law, but is allowed under Islamic Sharia law. It is estimated
that 30,000 French Muslims have more than one wife and that more than 250,000
people live in polygamous families.
The tolerance of polygamous Sharia marriages
is not restricted to France. In Norway, the Islamic Cultural Center Norway
(ICCN), an immigrant organization subsidized by the Norwegian state, advises
Muslims to take several wives because polygamy "is advantageous and ought
to be practised where conditions lend themselves to such practice." In
Britain legislators adopt an equally liberal approach towards polygamy for
Muslim men, allowing tax breaks for their second, third and fourth wives.
Last February, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a Conservative Peer of Muslim origin,
warned that the growing numbers of Muslim men marrying up to four wives in
Britain, is becoming a threat to community cohesion. In the Netherlands, the
authorities officially register polygamous marriages by non-Dutch citizens
from Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan and other Muslim countries. The Amsterdam municipal
authorities admitted that they have even registered Dutch citizens (of Islamic
origin) with multiple wives. Belgium, too, recognizes polygamous Islamic marriages.
Only last month, the welfare department of the city of Antwerp announced that
45 welfare recipients have two or more spouses.
Polygamous immigrants abuse the social security
system by collecting state benefits for several wives. In France, residence
is only granted to polygamous families if the two wives do not live at the
same address, which means that these families claim double social housing,
family allowances and other social benefits.
The recognition of polygamous marriages of
Muslims in countries where polygamy used to be illegal - and still is illegal
for non-Muslims - indicates that Sharia law is already accepted in these countries.
They have implicitly accepted a system of "legal apartheid" with
different legal systems for Muslims and non-Muslims. The decision to avoid
arresting Muslims during Ramadan "for reasons of religious sensitivity,"
thereby treating Muslims and non-Muslims differently, confirms this existence
of a dual legal system. It is difficult to see, however, how such a dual legal
system can continue to exist on the same territory. Ultimately, one of the
legal systems is likely to prevail. The decision of the Molenbeek mayor that
non-Muslim police officers have to respect the Ramadan prescriptions indicates
what the next step will be if Europe's authorities fail to impose the existing
laws of the land on Islamic immigrants: the imposition of Sharia law on everyone,
non-Muslims as well as Muslims. While Europe's Muslims hold their Ramadan,
this is something worth pondering for Europe's non-Muslims.
