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Posted on 01/28/2015 3:07:55 PM PST by Uncle Miltie
Some cultures in the US have been allowed to remain distinct, so why the double standard?
European no-go zones that non-Muslims may not enter have made headlines recently, despite the inconvenient fact that they don’t exist. Because of an overwhelming and unexpected reaction from France and England in particular, Fox News issued an apology for letting anchors and guests repeatedly discuss such zones. Yet there are those who refuse to back down. Case in point: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a potential Republican presidential candidate.
In an interview with CNN, he reiterated a point that others on the right have recently made (and that some on the left, such as Bill Maher, appear to agree with):
The huge issue with nonassimilation is the fact that people want to come to our country but not adopt our values — in some cases, not adopt our language, in some cases, want to set apart their own enclaves and continue to hold on to their own values. I think it is dangerous in America and it’s dangerous in Europe.
The comments came on the heels of a speech he gave in London in which he said that nonassimilationist Muslims “carry out as much of Sharia law as they can without regard for the laws of the democratic countries which provided them a new home.”
Such arguments are grossly misleading. Enclaves tend to form because immigrants of lower socioeconomic status don’t have the tools to adapt to a new culture and seek the comfort of the familiar, not because they want to consciously threaten mainstream culture. History shows that with time, enclaves often collapse. Just as important, religion-based nonassimilation has been allowed to flourish in pockets in the United States, sometimes buttressed by the First Amendment, which protects the free exercise of religion. So why the double standard?
After all, according to an article by Rachel Aviv in The New Yorker, Hasidic Jews in New York City have long been given much leeway. “In exchange for the community’s loyalty, politicians have given Brooklyn’s Hasidim wide latitude to police themselves,” she wrote. “They have their own emergency medical corps, a security patrol and a rabbinic court system, which often handles criminal allegations.”
A New York Times article published in November noted the extent to which Hasidic children’s learning deviated from what is taught in public schools: “Boys in elementary and middle school study religious subjects from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. followed by approximately 90 minutes of English and math. At 13, when boys formally enter yeshiva, most stop receiving any English instruction.”
The subject of the article, Naftuli Moster, an activist trying to bring systemic change to education in Hasidic communities, said that in his yeshiva, English, math and science were considered profane. It is not surprising that many come out of school with a limited grasp of English.
New York state law requires that all schools have curriculums that are equivalent to public schools’, yet schools in the Hasidic community are allowed to get away with completely divergent teaching.
“The haranguing attitudes of Gov. Bobby Jindal and his ilk are alienating the very populations they accuse of not integrating. ”
The Hasidic community is not alone. A 1972 Supreme Court ruling exempts Amish children from mandatory schooling after the eighth grade, on the grounds that schooling infringed on their right to freely exercise their religious beliefs and, as then–Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote, exposed “Amish children to worldly influences in terms of attitudes, goals and values contrary to beliefs.”
The Affordable Care Act exempts certain Amish and Mennonite religious orders from having to purchase health insurance, which is tied to the fact that they are also exempted from having to pay Social Security tax.
In 48 states, children can be exempted from vaccinations on the basis of their parents’ religious beliefs. This despite the fact that, according to one study, unvaccinated kids are 35 times more likely to contract measles and are at higher risk for getting whooping cough.
Given these exceptions, far from adopting a blanket critical view toward nonassimilation, would-be critics should first analyze its outcomes. The Amish take care of their old and sick, and so the health insurance and Social Security exemptions they receive may be reasonable. There is arguably less justification for depriving kids of a solid education simply because of their parents’ beliefs — particularly in a country that promises no child will be left behind.
The truth is that Muslims in the U.S. are fairly well assimilated. In a recent article, “Islamic, yet integrated,” The Economist cited a 2011 Pew Research Center report that found that Muslims in the U.S. came from at least 77 countries. “Mixing breeds tolerance,” the article stated. “Most American Muslims think that their faith is open to multiple interpretations.”
Overall, household income for Muslims is comparable with other Americans’, and some Muslim communities, such as the Bangladeshi diaspora, are better educated and earn more than the general U.S. population.
This is not to say that each and every Muslim in the U.S. is a fully assimilated part of American culture. There is a small percentage of American Muslims who sympathize with extremists. But the question Americans should ask is, “While safeguards have been put in place to guard against Islamic extremists, how must the vast majority of Muslims be regarded?”
Last year a boy who had just arrived from Baghdad and couldn’t speak English enrolled in my son’s school. The class teacher requested two kids to come forward and help him navigate the cafeteria and playground. She found a website that translated words from English to Arabic so she could communicate with him at a basic level. Meanwhile, he enrolled in English classes for speakers of other languages. Within a matter of weeks, he was able to understand others, and within months, he had adapted to school life.
When it comes to facilitating assimilation, I would wager this sort of supportive approach is preferable to the haranguing attitude and double standards of Jindal and his ilk, who are possibly alienating the very populations they accuse of not integrating.
Because the core of their belief is seditious. That’s why.
Because Little Havana and Chinatown are not launching rocket attacks against American neighborhoods as “muzzietown” no doubt would.
That’s why.
Study history and scenarios where countries had heavy immigration and no assimilation and tried to “co-exist” together and you will find your answer. They don’t assimilate; one culture conquers the other and wipes it out. The bible talks bout it quite a bit but if you’re athiest and think the bible is just fairy tales go look up the history; it’s out there and says the same thing.
They shouldnt be allowed here. Round all of them up and get them out of this country.
Who says that others who isolate themselves is a good thing?
And for those that do, at least they share some basic values with the USA.
islam is 180 degrees from the USA and sharia law is a complete middle finger to the U.S. Constitution.
If Muslims want to reject modern society by withdrawing into their own communities, and ignoring the rest of us, the way the Amish do, I’d have no problem with that.
Or if they chose reject modern society but to live among us, attempting to change us by the force of their example, the way the Mormons do, I’d have no problem with that, either.
But that’s not what they’re doing.
I couldn't get past the first lie of this takkiya vomiter.
My only question back at this goathumper is why, if things are so great in the culture from which you are fleeing, would you want to replicate that culture here?
Someone ought to straighten out, or tune up, the left-wing blackguard who wrote the posted article.
My only question back at this goathumper is why, if things are so great in the culture from which you are fleeing, would you want to flee it? And if a living horror, replicate that culture here?
Don’t assimilate, go back to where you came from.
Can any Freepers report on areas with big Muslim populations and their willingness or not to assimilate?
I live in LA and I’m in the Iranian area of LA all the time. It’s got great food and the people are super assimilated.
Of course, we’ve got Terrangelous too ... Naturally, that is really Westerniszed.
I’m under the impression that it is REALLY hard to assimilate in Europe but so much easier here,
The opening sentence is a lie so I didn’t bother to read the rest.
Hey, if they are assimilating, that’s great.
Iranians are not Arabs... maybe that makes a difference.
I have no specific population reports for you, though.
BINGO! Not to mention totalitarian.
I would imagine most Iranians in the US (like the many I know in TN) are NOT Muslims. Most practice the Baha’i faith.
http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/preserveident.htm
Preserving The Islamic Identity in The West Threats & Solutions
excerpt:
Narrated Samara bin Jundub, Allah’s Messenger (saws) said:
” Anybody (from among the Muslims) who meets, gathers together, lives, and stays with a Mushrik, and agrees to his ways, opinions, etc. and enjoys his living with him (Mushrik) then he (that Muslim) is like him (Mushrik)” [Sunan Abu Dawud - The Book of Jihad]
There is a defense that can be applied that will render every effort by the Kuffar useless, and serve to keep our Islamic identity intact. This defence is knowledge. The Muslim should arm himself with a correct Aqeedah and an awareness of what it means to be Muslim. Any attack, any attempt to subvert or mislead will then be in vain. If the Muslim knows the true nature of this society and if he can see how it is designed to mislead, then he will not fall into its traps. This ability to distinguish from right and wrong and chose right comes from a correct Aqeedah.
The strength of the family unit is also a defence. The father is the shepherd of the household and like any other shepherd he should protect his flock from the wolves. In this case the wolves are the Kuffar, and the protection is to pass the knowledge onto the children and his wives. The children should be provided with a sound Islamic education outside of their schooling. This is imperative if the children are to be strong enough to avoid the many pitfalls they w ill face. They should be taught that the only truth in this world is the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) and that all else must be judged against these two noble criterion.
Finally, there is a solution guaranteed to remove the risks, and that is to remove oneself from amongst the disbelievers.
It is therefore unavoidable that as long as we live here we will, through a process of cultural osmosis, take on some of the characteristics of the Kuffar. The likeness of Islam and Kuffar is like that of fresh clear spring water and water brought up from the bottom of a suburban sewer. If even a drop of the filthy water enters the clear water, the clarity diminishes. Likewise it only takes a drop of the filth of disbelief to contaminate Islam in the West. If we have it within our means we should therefore consider moving to a Muslim land whereby we can at least live amongst our brethren and within an Islamic society free from the contamination of the disbelievers.
And don’t let the door hit you on the backside on your way out!
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