October 25, 2006
By George Thomas
CBN News
CBNNews.com - The debate over the Muslim veil comes at a time when an alarming number of British-born Muslims are being indoctrinated to hate the very country that they live in.
"These young men are willing to kill thousands of men, women, and children," said terrorism analyst M.J. Gohel.
After the attacks of 9/11, there was a big push to integrate the nearly two million Muslims into British society. But that's easier said than done.
A recent survey of Muslims shows:
- 44 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds feel Britain is their country.
- 30 percent would rather live under Sharia law than democracy.
- 28 percent would like to see Great Britain become an Islamic state
- An overwhelming 81 percent consider themselves Muslims first and British second.
Many also find it difficult living in a modern society while remaining devout.
"It is not an issue of bringing the two worlds together. I have chosen my path, and I will stick to it," said Mohammed Islam, a British Muslim immigrant.
Mohammed is part of the second and third generation of British Muslim immigrants who struggle the most to find their place in society.
Melanie Phillips has documented the rise of Islamic extremism in Britain.
She said, "They don't feel they belong because they are stranded between their parent's values and a society which they reject and the decadence of Britain."
These young adults are not only detaching themselves from society, but are becoming more zealous in their faith.
"They fall victim to radical Islamists who tell them that Britain and Western values are to be despised," Phillips said.
"Living in this Western culture, we have to be patient," said Mohammed Uddin, a British Muslim immigrant.
To avoid such evils, Uddin, like so many other Muslim immigrants, moved into so-called "parallel communities," where there's little hint of mainstream British culture.
Fareena Alam, editor of Q Magazine said, "So they move into areas where there are lots of Muslims and lots of South Asians," like East London, which has the highest Muslim population in the country.
"I feel very safe here as a Muslim," said Monwara Begum, an East London resident. We can practice our faith with no distractions."
Spend a few minutes on the streets of East London and you'd think you were in some Middle East capital. There's nothing here that you can't buy, mostly products Muslims want.
"Take for example a bank across the street. It offers Sharia checking accounts. And increasingly, Muslims are flocking to such banks.
Muslims are forbidden under Islamic Sharia law to do business with banks that earn or charge interest.
"Basically, I'm a Muslim and this bank, the Islamic bank, is following the regulations of Islam," said Hasnain Saleh, another British Muslim immigrant.
Parallel communities are emerging all across Britain. And some Muslims like to claim these areas are off limits to non-Muslims.
Case in point: when Britain's Home Secretary John Reid visited East London in September, Abu Izzadeen, a radical Islamic leader shouted at Reid saying "How dare you come to a Muslim area."
Reid replied, "My friend, there is no part of this country which any one of us is excluded from."
Britain has prided itself on being a multicultural society. But Phillips says multiculturalism has instead allowed radical Islamists to flourish.
"The host community is saying multiculturalism, everyone's culture is identical value, minority to minority and identical value, minority to majority," Phillips said. "So the majority is saying, 'You want to integrate, forget it. We don't want you to because we no longer have any belief in what you are going to integrate into.' That's really where the damage is being done."
Phillips also says that since 9/11, the British government has bent over backwards to appease and accommodate the radical Muslims.
"It has taken the line of least resistance and it very foolishly, in my view, believes that if you give in to the demands made by extremists, you kind of make the problem go away. We know that that's not true; it makes it worse," Phillips said.
There is growing sentiment in Britain and throughout Europe that Islam and Western values don't mix. Some are even beginning to question the idea of multiculturalism.
For now, criticism of Islam has once again sparked anger among British Muslims- this time, over the veil. And once again, Britain faces the challenge of how to win Muslim hearts and minds that appear closed for the moment.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/45968.aspx