jueves, 12 de mayo de 2011

Tide of Muslims change EU’s old order





BERLIN — A train from Italy with a few dozen North African immigrants crossing the border with France set off an uproar among the nations of the European Union.
In Paris, Muslim women wearing veils were arrested after a ban on burqas took effect.
Anti-immigrant populist parties continue to win votes across the Continent while their leaders intone: “Multiculturalism has failed.”

On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI urged Italy to welcome immigrants fleeing turmoil in North Africa, and more refugees crowded into rickety boats to set sail for Europe.

Europe is in the grip of an identity crisis, as many cling to what some analysts say is a myth about their nationalities. Europeans continue to believe that their countries are not nations of immigrants.

A Tunisian migrant arriving from Italy is led away by French police after being detained at a worker’s residence. The influx of Tunisian migrants influx has strained relations between France and Tunisia. (Associated Press)
They can’t say that with a straight face anymore. It’s absurd,” said anthropologist Ruth Mandel of the University College London and author of the book “Cosmopolitan Anxieties.”

“The reality is they are all immigration lands. If you look at the histories of any of these countries, it is a history of movement [of peoples]”

She said that Europeans have “an ideology of sameness” that includes viewing themselves as cohesive and homogenous. Recent immigrants are thus more “marked” or noticeable in these types of societies than in self-defined immigrant lands such as the United States or Canada.

That has been particularly true since the Sept. 11, 2001, Islamist terrorist attacks on the United States.
In Europe, Muslims suddenly became more visible, and the fears of Islamic extremists and their terrorist acts grew. Populist politicians have capitalized on this to strengthen their anti-immigration credentials and win votes.

Autor: Jabeen Bhatti
Fuente: Washington times

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