Posted on 03/16/2006 8:23:48 PM PST by Cedar
Observers Foresee a Europe Divided Along Muslim / Non-Muslim Lines
By Chad Groening
The director of the group Jihad Watch says things have gotten so bad in Europe that the only solution to the Islamic problem might be to divide the continent into Muslim and non-Muslim enclaves.
Much has been made of the growing Muslim presence in Europe. According to 2005 statistics, roughly 10 percent of the population in France is Muslim -- percentages in Bulgaria and Russia, says IslamicPopulation.com, are even higher (12 and 19 percent, respectively). And in Southern Europe, there are considerably higher percentages in Macedonia (30), Bosnia Herzegovina (60), and Albania (70). By comparison, estimates place the Muslim presence in the United States at around two percent of the population.
Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch notes there are already vast areas surrounding major European cities like Paris that have been completely taken over by Muslims. Spencer, who describes this as a "very dangerous situation," says there is much pessimism about how things are going to play out.
"I was in the Hague [Netherlands] not long ago for a conference, and some of the speakers were saying that they think the only solution, the only ultimate outcome, is going to be a conflict that leads to division of territory within Europe with Muslim and non-Muslim enclaves," he says.
The result, says Spencer, is that Europe could wind up like Israel with its Palestinian problem. "The problem is much further down the road for us [in America]," he adds. "We don't have that kind of Muslim population; but we need to face the fact that there is no clear delineation within the Muslim community, either in America or in Europe, between moderates and extremists."
Supposed "moderate" Muslims, he asserts, have done nothing to defuse the extremism found in the Muslim population. "The moderates, so-called, do not expel the extremists from their communities, [and] they don't root them out," he states. "They're not cooperating, for the most part, with law enforcement officials in anti-terror efforts -- and we have to face the implications of that."
Spencer says even though the Muslim percentage in the United States is relatively small, it is clear that "moderate" Muslims on American soil are not eager to help deal with their radical brethren either.
We won't grasp the nettle until we've lost entire cities.
Now that sounds like an eletist European intellectual jab if I have ever heard one. But you do have a point. Many sit around talking trash, while others (like me and my brother) have and are still taking out the trash. Thanks for your input, sometimes we all need a little shake up.
bookmk ping on #39 , and thanks sagar
This is a different kind of war.
In what fundamental way would you consider this conflict different from the Muhammadean advance, and subsequent Christian Crusades that took place ~1000 years ago?
Interesting thoughts. The author might be right, unfortunately.
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