An Islamic Alienation

The London bombings perpetrated by native-born Muslims have forced Europeans to take a serious look at the status of the Continent’s Muslim minority. Suggestions that the Muslim alienation is due to anger in Muslim communities over the Iraq war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, do not provide an adequate answer. Rieff argues that the reasons of alienation run much deeper than this. Europe’s Muslim minority immigrated in the 1950’s at the behest of European government and business. The prevailing philosophy was that with the proper resources available and goodwill extended, Islamic immigrants would become liberals, fitting in smoothly to the mainstream of European society. This has turned out not to be the case. Many Muslim immigrants and their children today feel at odds with European culture. They interpret their traditional religious values as being scorned and cannot reconcile European cultural ideas such as the independence of women with their own views. As a result, they are turning in increasing numbers to more obscure interpretations of Islam, and, in some cases to violence. How can Europe solve this problem? Rieff says there is no easy answer. Right-wing groups that seek to broaden anti-Muslim sentiment would certainly alienate the Muslim community further. But Europeans cannot allow the kind of compromise between Islam and European ideals that would erode the way of life of the European majority. Rieff says this challenge "is existential and urgent and has no obvious answer." - YaleGlobal