August 21, 2006
SAME ASSIMILATION SUCCESS STORY, DIFFERENT CHAPTER:
Pakistanis Find U.S. an Easier Fit Than Britain (NEIL MacFARQUHAR, 8/21/06, NY Times)
The stretch of Devon Avenue in North Chicago also named for Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, seems as if it has been transplanted directly from that country. The shops are packed with traditional wedding finery, and the spice mix in the restaurants’ kebabs is just right.Posted by Orrin Judd at August 21, 2006 11:03 AMSimilar enclaves in Britain have been under scrutiny since they have proved to be a breeding ground for cells of terrorists, possibly including the 24 men arrested recently as suspects in a plot to blow up airliners flying out of London.
Yet Devon Avenue is in many ways different. Although heavily Pakistani, the street is far more exposed to other cultures than are similar communities in Britain.
Indian Hindus have a significant presence along the roughly one-and-a-half-mile strip of boutiques, whose other half is named for Gandhi. What was a heavily Jewish neighborhood some 20 years ago also includes recent immigrants from Colombia, Mexico and Ukraine, among others.
“There is integration even when you have an enclave,†said Nizam Arain, 32, a lawyer of Pakistani descent who was born and raised in Chicago. “You don’t have the same siege mentality.†[...]
[O]ne major difference between the United States and Britain, some say, is the United States’ historical ideal of being a melting-pot meritocracy.
“You can keep the flavor of your ethnicity, but you are expected to become an American,†said Omer Mozaffar, 34, a Pakistani-American raised here who is working toward a doctorate in Islamic studies at the University of Chicago.
Britain remains far more rigid. In the United States, for example, Pakistani physicians are more likely to lead departments at hospitals or universities than they are in Britain, said Dr. Tariq H. Butt, a 52-year-old family physician who arrived in the United States 25 years ago for his residency.
Nationwide, Pakistanis appear to be prospering. The census calculated that mean household income in the United States in 2002 was $57,852 annually, while that for Asian households, which includes Pakistanis, was $70,047. By contrast, about one-fifth of young British-born Muslims are jobless, and many subsist on welfare.
-- Islamic studies at the University of Chicago.--
Yup, America's crying out for another 1 of those. I reserve judgment for about 10-15 years to see what he really has to say in private, unless he's bold to say what he believes in public.
They keep their home pride, when India detonated their nuke, they drove up and down Devon honking their horns, etc.
Then when the Pakis did it, they did, too.
That's not really surprising. In the UK, the bulk of poor and jobless Pakistanis are unskilled descendants of those who emigrated from Kashmir to work as cheap industrial labour.
There is a thriving middle class made up of emigrants who were college-educated or better before they came over, but they all get lumped in together in social surveys.
One major difference between the United States and Britain, some say, is the United States’ historical ideal of being a melting-pot meritocracy.
“You can keep the flavor of your ethnicity, but you are expected to become an American,”
Which the hate-America leftists are doing everything in their power to stop.
Abetted by the hate-Americans Rightists, with their focus on people's national origins instead of the culture.
Posted by: oj at August 21, 2006 12:59 PMMaybe Jim or Bruno can comment on this but when I lived in the Chicago area 20 years ago, the two leading convenience store chains were 7-11 and White Hen.
Virtually every 7-11 was owned by an Indian franchisee and nearly every White Hen was owned by a Pakistani franchisee, but the competition was purely American.
Posted by: jeff at August 21, 2006 2:44 PM
Devon Avenue is probably the most interesting street culturally and gastronomically in Chicago.
Jeff:
Based only on what I've seen, that still seems to be true.
Posted by: Rick T. at August 21, 2006 2:55 PM-- Islamic studies at the University of Chicago.-- Yup, America's crying out for another 1 of those. I reserve judgment for about 10-15 years to see what he really has to say in private, unless he's bold to say what he believes in public.
Taking a PhD in Islamic Studies at the U of C (or any other major American university) isn't like getting one at al-Azhar, or in Saudi Arabia.
If it's one thing we've learned over the last 30 years, nothing will turn you into a secular humanist faster than doing graduate study in relgion at a major American university.
Speaking from personal experience, it's not the graduate students who are Muslim-by-birth you've got to watch out for, it's the American converts.
P.S. 7-11 just bought White Hen
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0608150193aug15,1,6686662.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Posted by: H.D. Miller at August 21, 2006 4:07 PMRick T:
I agree about Devon although I really like Lawrence Avenue also (12 blocks south of Devon for you non-Chicagoans), but then I really like Chinese, Greek and Korean food.
Posted by: jeff at August 21, 2006 4:10 PMWent to a 7-11 or WH in Hong Kong, it wasn't Chinese or Brit-owned.
And they didn't like them either.
Nasty things, those prawn-flavored Cheetos.
Posted by: Sandy P at August 21, 2006 4:12 PMHD should we read anything into 7-11 buying White Hen? Will it follow that Hindus will be victorious over Moslems?
Posted by: erp at August 21, 2006 7:00 PMLet us contrast muslim immigrants to the United states, who are here, presumably, because they have made a decision to join the folk, and many native-born converts to Islam who are making a decision to separate themselves from the folk.
We have substantial populations of new Americans here in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, all kinds of restaurants, ethnic food markets, the whole nine yards. If this is working as well in the rest of the country as it is here, we are in good shape with this. The challege is going to be getting them to join the gun club.
Posted by: Lou Gots at August 22, 2006 7:06 AMOne of the most effective institutions in the inner ciy is the Nation of Islam, whose message of self-reliance could hardly be more folkish.
Posted by: oj at August 22, 2006 8:34 AM