Islamic neighbourhoods seem to have been able to protect themselves a bit better than average.
They might have a problematic community, but at least that´s better than no community at all, which is rapidly becoming the standard for non-yuppie Britain. Nihilism is not a viable basis for a civilized society.
Like the old saying, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
People that don't believe in anything don't have anything to fight and die for. They're just here because they were born here, and they decided to stay. There's nothing in their hearts that makes them think what they have is worth spilling blood over. Even the ones holding the guns are just doing it for a paycheck.
Say what you will about Muslims, but the observant ones are a serious community. In the absence of a higher civilization, theirs works just fine, and is very resilient.
Nature abhors a vacuum. Even a snobbish, erudite, wine and cheese flavored vacuum.
Furthermore, and I hate to say this, but I hope that England either fights back or dies quietly. The last thing we need are people who ran her into the ground jumping ship and bringing the same values here without acknowledging that they were wrong. Their home secretary seems like the kind that would happily let all of her fellows be slaughtered to appease her own moral vanity, then pack up, move away, set up shop elsewhere, and keep singing the same PC siren song.
You make sound points. The Sikh community, also, has been absent from the riots, and defending their areas. They are affected by the economic downturn - like everyone - but don’t feel the need to loot and vandalise.
If anything positive can be said about the Muslim community, it is their prevalence of two-parent families (as opposed to ghettos where unwed births are the norm). Though that factor alone does not seem sufficient to keep Muslim young men from antisocial behavior.