Muslim teenagers in the UK are much more assimilated with the nation than their counterparts growing up in other European countries, new research claims.
For the study, young second generation Pakistanis and Indians who were also Muslims living in Blackburn and Rochdale were compared with Moroccan and Algerian youngsters in France and Turks and former Yugoslavs in Germany.
The British "multicultural" approach of accommodating immigrants actually works better than the French or German approaches, it is claimed.
In France, where head coverings have been banned in schools, there is no allowance for ethnic and religious differences by the state. And the widespread ethnic tensions seen between North Africans and the police in France in 2007 were repeated this summer.
In Germany, unless you have a German ancestor you cannot legally become a German citizen no matter how long your family have settled in the country. Citizenship relies on a German blood line.
The research is to be published in a new book out tomorrow, titled Children of International Migrants in Europe. Professor Roger Penn, from Lancaster University, who co-authored the book said:
"Perceptions of discrimination were lowest in Britain and highest in Germany, reflecting the failure of the German model of exclusive 'ethnic nationalism'. Britain's model of multiculturalism is proving far more effective for the incorporation of ethnic minority groups than the French 'assimilation' or German 'ethnic nationalist' ones. There is simply a moral panic going on about young Muslims because of 7/7."
Here is one of the most deeply moving clips I have seen on the subject from the film Code Inconnu (2000) where M.Haneke again depicts failure of multiculturalism in modern society. Two young Arab men in a tube begin taunting Anne (Juliette Binoche), teasing her for being beautiful and trying in vain to seduce her.
Thanks for this insighful post, Hille! Such a sad commentary on how far we need to go before we can call ourselves an enlightened species.
ReplyDeleteMuch metta!
I think those two guys were acting like thugs. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteThanks Carrie and Mimi. Very sad indeed. Two reasons I loved this movie- first because its so real and has happened to everybody, in every country there are repressed minorities who get aggressive. And second because I applaud the director for continuously showing it, people tend to ignore these issues, turn their faces away from it like those people on the train, pretend its not happening, pretend its not their responsibility. Suffering minorities like this need to be noticed. I mean it in a good way. They need to be seen and not ostracized, not pushed to the side-line, not immediately judged as worthless. They struggle because of this prejudice and they would rather be seen as a threat than not seen at all, and this is of course not good for them, or for anybody else.
ReplyDeleteI hope too that one day we will become a more enlightened species, and yes it does seem desperately far off, doesn't it.