Английский язык для специальных и академических целей: Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1 - [89]

British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "The doctrine of multiculturalism has encouraged different cultures to live separate lives apart from each other and apart from the mainstream.”

Last October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed problems with the "multikulti” concept and immigrants not assimilating: "We kidded ourselves a while.We said: ‘they won't stay, sometime they will be gone,' but this isn't reality.The approach to build a multicultural society and to live side by side and to enjoy each other.has failed, utterly failed.”

Key Issue

Immigrants coming to Europe are often viewed as political refugees fleeing harsh governments, or as victims of environmental catastrophes, and even called the downtrodden who are looking for a better life. These statements are generally accurate. But, afraid to be politically incorrect, government leaders and news outlets usually will not mention a common characteristic of these immigrants: they are Muslim. Political discussions on "multicultural” woes become a thinly veiled way of discussing Muslims in Europe.

Look at Libya, Tunisia and Turkey — all main sources of migration for Europe. The CIA World Factbookplaces Libya at 97 percent Sunni Muslim, Tunisia at 98 percent Muslim, and Turkey at 99.8 percent Muslim. In addition, many immigrants also come from other majority-Muslim nations in the Middle East and South Asia.

“Europe's Muslim population has more than doubled in the past 30 years and will have doubled again by 2015,” an article by the Telegraph stated. “In Brussels, the top seven baby boys' names recently were Mohamed, Adam, Rayan, Ayoub, Mehdi, Amine and Hamza.”

While Muslims constitute only about 4.6 percent of the total population, cities generally have higher numbers. For instance, the International Business Times noted that Austria's Muslim population is only 2.2 percent, while its capital, Vienna, is estimated at 10 percent.

The Reader

A Pew Research study called “The Future of the Global Muslim Population” revealed, “France had an expected net influx of 66,000 Muslim immigrants in 2010, primarily from North Africa. Muslims comprised an estimated two-thirds (68.5%) of all new immigrants to France in the past year. Spain was expected to see a net gain of 70,000 Muslim immigrants in 2010, but they account for a much smaller portion of all new immigrants to Spain (13.1%). The U.K.'s net inflow of Muslim immigrants in the past year (nearly 64,000) was forecast to be nearly as large as France's. More than a quarter (28.1%) of all new immigrants to the U.K. in 2010 are estimated to be Muslim.”

The study estimated that Muslims will account for 8.2 percent of the EU population in 2030, up from approximately 4.6 percent today.

Many native Europeans are wary of continuous waves of immigrants. A poll showed that 60 percent of Britons feel immigration is bad for the country. Eighty percent feel the government needs to impose stricter controls. A 2010 study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation published by the BBC showed that 30 percent of Germans believe foreigners are overrunning the country.

While public apprehension can be fed to some degree by prejudice, it is understandable. One only has to recall a number of extremist attacks. Britain's government reports that as many as 20 Britons are in Pakistan training to launch suicide attacks on England's capital city.

In addition, news articles have detailed two UK residents who were linked to a terrorist group planning shooting sprees in Britain, France and Germany. And French citizens fear their country will be overrun when they see hundreds of Muslims blocking public streets while praying.

European governments are responding to public sentiment: French authorities banned women from wearing a full-cover veil, called a burqa, and cut the number of immigrants entering the country by 10 percent. Italy passed a law making illegal immigration a crime punishable with fines as high as 10,000 euros. The British government proposed a permanent cap on immigrants from outside the EU.

Speaking in Munich, Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain needs to build a stronger national identity. He warned Muslim groups they would lose government funding if they do not endorse women's rights or promote integration.

Parallel Societies

Why should Europe, which has long promoted religious freedom, fear an influx from Muslim nations? The answer runs deeper than the “terror” stigma Islam has gained since the United States September 11 attacks.

The current wave of European immigration started just after the Second World War, as the economies of devastated nations began to bounce back in the 1950s and 60s.

To meet the growing demand for workers, Europeans recruited immigrants to do jobs they were unwilling to do. These were deemed "guest workers.” Most people expected they would eventually return home after working several years.

After the OPEC oil crisis of 1973 triggered an economic slowdown, many European governments stopped issuing work visas — but by then it was too late. Having settled into life in their adopted countries, most temporary migrants never returned home, and instead convinced family members to come live with them in Europe.