HOW CAN YOU NOT THINK GOD HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR...:

Muslims and the decadent West (Jörg Lau, 11/23/07, Eurozine)

The beginning of 2007 saw the publication of findings from one of the first comprehensive surveys of British Muslims' opinions, entitled Living Apart Together. They demonstrated the deep ambivalence felt by British Muslims towards the West, which vented itself through moralising cultural critique. Young Muslims have the impression of living in a decadent country that has forgotten its own values, pays too high a price for its freedoms, and is increasingly losing its sense of morality. Note, however, that this is not the usual case of the elderly complaining about the decadence of society in comparison to a morally intact past. It is the younger generation that is turning its back on the present.

This is something new in the history of migration: instead of realising their parents' dream of social advancement and respect, the second and third generations are turning away from the majority in moral indignation and cultivating feelings of superiority. Instead of taking up the struggle for recognition with the established majority, they themselves refuse to recognise the majority society under the banner of an opposing religious identity. How should European societies deal with the fact that a considerable – and growing – percentage of immigrants and their children reject them as decadent and see cutting themselves off as the solution? This is an exact description of the situation in Britain and it is one that is leading to resentment against Islamic immigrants throughout Europe.

...when you note that the neocon and Islamist critiques of Europe are identical?

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 6, 2008 4:33 PM