I've been reading disturbing articles on the surge in rapes committed by "non-Western" -- e.g., Muslim -- immigrants throughout Europe. In France, I read one reported statistic that while Muslims make up only 10% of the population, they are responsible for 70% of the reported rapes.
I'll post links to the articles and commentaries here. A lot of the sources look very "redneck conservative" to me, but that's the fault of the liberal media (which are utterly silent on the issue) rather than my personal preference. I'm a liberal myself, but I'll look for the truth wherever I can find it.
Well, that seems like enough for now. Take a look-see, and tell me what you think: Is this blatant xenophobia, or the blanket condemnation of a religion?
It would be more interesting if all of your sources were not avowedly right wing anti immigrant sources. None of these reports come from any recognized journalistic source. As far as the one video they all refer to it is indeed interesting but does not make the conclusion that all "non western" appearing males were Muslim much less practicing Muslims. It would be very interesting to see the numbers of those actually convicted of the crime not victim identification of some person's ethnicity.
Overall I woould say blatant xenophobia.
"Not all who wander are lost" J.R.R.Tolkein You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. ~Anne Lamott "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." Friedrich von Schiller
There is a real problem especialy in Pakistan with religious minorities being treated attrociously. And I think the culture in alot of Islamic countries needs to focus on these kinds of attitudes towards women. You don't get many reports of rape in Saudi ARabia and some of the other places because if convicted a man is punished for rape but the woman also recieves so many lashes and not uncommonly prison time. Naturally a real deterent to reporting rape.
I believe as those cultures grow there will be a more targeted focus on women's rights and indeed there are plenty of green shoots. In the meantime those cultures are decidedly well behind western cultures in that regards. But the only one who can direct the growth are growth minded muslims.
And I think the culture in alot of Islamic countries needs to focus on these kinds of attitudes towards women. You don't get many reports of rape in Saudi ARabia and some of the other places because if convicted a man is punished for rape but the woman also recieves so many lashes and not uncommonly prison time. Naturally a real deterent to reporting rape.
I believe as those cultures grow there will be a more targeted focus on women's rights and indeed there are plenty of green shoots. In the meantime those cultures are decidedly well behind western cultures in that regards. But the only one who can direct the growth are growth minded muslims.
Certainly true in some cases; but as with most things, you cannot generalize. As regards Muslim immigrants, I also think there may be a difference between the state of things twenty years ago and the state of things today (I'm speaking here of the US, not Europe, since it is the base of my experience).
I have known and worked with educated Muslim women (specifically Egyptian, Palestinian, and Pakistani). And I have know many educated Muslim men who treat their wives and daughters no differently than I treat my own.
But again, these are educated, generally professional people. I suspect (but do not know for sure, though my experience tends to suggest this) that more recent immigrants may be poorer, less educated, and may tend to bring with them more archaic attitudes concerning women (which, BTW are certainly not limited to Muslims, as for example the female genital mutilation acceptable in some African cultures).
I agree with you that Muslims themselves must be the ones to adopt more enlightened customs (and in many places, are trying at least to do so- though the trend in other areas, e.g. the Taliban, may be running the other way). On the other hand, as far as the law goes, if they choose to move to western countries, they must be judged by western laws.
And I think the culture in alot of Islamic countries needs to focus on these kinds of attitudes towards women. You don't get many reports of rape in Saudi ARabia and some of the other places because if convicted a man is punished for rape but the woman also recieves so many lashes and not uncommonly prison time. Naturally a real deterent to reporting rape.
I believe as those cultures grow there will be a more targeted focus on women's rights and indeed there are plenty of green shoots. In the meantime those cultures are decidedly well behind western cultures in that regards. But the only one who can direct the growth are growth minded muslims.
Certainly true in some cases; but as with most things, you cannot generalize. As regards Muslim immigrants, I also think there may be a difference between the state of things twenty years ago and the state of things today (I'm speaking here of the US, not Europe, since it is the base of my experience).
I have known and worked with educated Muslim women (specifically Egyptian, Palestinian, and Pakistani). And I have know many educated Muslim men who treat their wives and daughters no differently than I treat my own.
But again, these are educated, generally professional people. I suspect (but do not know for sure, though my experience tends to suggest this) that more recent immigrants may be poorer, less educated, and may tend to bring with them more archaic attitudes concerning women (which, BTW are certainly not limited to Muslims, as for example the female genital mutilation acceptable in some African cultures).
I agree with you that Muslims themselves must be the ones to adopt more enlightened customs (and in many places, are trying at least to do so- though the trend in other areas, e.g. the Taliban, may be running the other way). On the other hand, as far as the law goes, if they choose to move to western countries, they must be judged by western laws.
I think in the US we get the more educated and by default "westernized" muslim immigrants. In fact muslims in the US make more on average than the average american. They are often highly educated and command high salaries. Certainly not every muslim immigrant is educated and some come here and do jobs like cab drivers, etc. But by and large europe and maybe also Canada gets a higher percentage of the uneducated muslim immigrants and by default the views towards women that are considered highly unacceptable in the western world.
I've been reading disturbing articles on the surge in rapes committed by "non-Western" -- e.g., Muslim -- immigrants throughout Europe. In France, I read one reported statistic that while Muslims make up only 10% of the population, they are responsible for 70% of the reported rapes.
While much of Islam has regretably backward views of women, 70% is an absurd figure. Just from basic population statistics, that's utterly unbelievable. With the exception of "war rape" (when rape is used as an organised terror tactic in war) and the rape of prostitutes (who are usually victims of opportunity), rapists almost always commit crimes within their own ethnic group. The myth of the big scary ethnic guy is just that, a myth. If Muslims make up 10% of the population, then a maximum of about 15% of rapes were committed by Muslims.
I'll post links to the articles and commentaries here. A lot of the sources look very "redneck conservative" to me, but that's the fault of the liberal media (which are utterly silent on the issue) rather than my personal preference. I'm a liberal myself, but I'll look for the truth wherever I can find it.
Two things. Firstly, if you genuinely think the mainstream media are liberally biased, you either aren't very liberal or aren't looking very hard. Secondly, if something isn't getting reported in the media, always ask yourself why. Which is more likely: That there is some conspiratorial view preventing the crimes of Muslims being reported in a country that turned the renovation of a Burlington coat factory in New York into a national cause or, infinitely more likely, that they took the same approach that I just did (which is drawn from a basic knowledge of Criminology, Criminal Psychology and Sociology) and decided there just wasn't much of a story there? If in any doubt, ask yourself who they're trying to make you afraid of.
Well, that seems like enough for now. Take a look-see, and tell me what you think: Is this blatant xenophobia, or the blanket condemnation of a religion?
Mostly blatant xenophobia. Now, large parts of the Islamic world do have a woeful lack of respect for women's rights and one rape is too many. However, all the sites linked to are frothing right-fringe and one (Council of Conservative Citizens) are outright white supremacists. A small fraction of Muslims are violent extremists, just as a small fraction of any religion are violent extremists. Al Queda and similar groups are the Muslim equivelent of the KKK with better funding (they get money from a lot of legitimate groups in the MidEast, not out of sympathy but essentially as "protection money").
1) Various cultural practices which are degrading to women (a few of which might technically be labeled rape by western standards- but, as noted always against women of the same community).
2) Rape as a crime of violence. Which is not limited to any one ethnic or religious group.
Both are sadly all too real; but the sleight-of-hand of the links cited here is to link cultural norms associated with the former to outright criminal acts associated with the latter. This is nothing but xenophobia and bigotry.
Fully half of the Muslim society is going about truly neglected. When women are arrested for driving a car or even riding a bicycle, something is basically wrong here. When you are not allowed to fly a kite, something is wrong here.
Rape has long been a tool of terrorism, or in other words "winning a war on something or someone" by Arab Muslims. During the height of the Slave Trade Days of yore, female slaves were always considered "sex slaves" and the men were for "work slavery". I am continually astounded at the very lack of Muslim clerics in their abilities to indeed revolutionize the Islamic thinking towards women. Sadaam Hussein hung menstruating women by their feet so the blood would run down their bodies as mental torture.
I'm not being a critic of the Faith, I'm questioning whether it has the ability to evolve. When Rape is used as a tool of whatever and is condoned and/or encouraged by the theo/politico governments as policy... Yes, I have a real problem with that.
As I recall, didn't the Lybian... or was it the Egyptian Government that recently issued their troops condoms to protect them during the known rapings that would occur?
I've been reading disturbing articles on the surge in rapes committed by "non-Western" -- e.g., Muslim -- immigrants throughout Europe. In France, I read one reported statistic that while Muslims make up only 10% of the population, they are responsible for 70% of the reported rapes.
I'll post links to the articles and commentaries here. A lot of the sources look very "redneck conservative" to me, but that's the fault of the liberal media (which are utterly silent on the issue) rather than my personal preference. I'm a liberal myself, but I'll look for the truth wherever I can find it.
Well, that seems like enough for now. Take a look-see, and tell me what you think: Is this blatant xenophobia, or the blanket condemnation of a religion?
Love,
-- Claudia
Claudia,
Rape is and should be a major concern of women. It is a hate crime against them and should be treated as such.
However, the introduction of race does lend an incenderary element into the issue far beyond the needed urgency it would normally merit. It tends to appeal to the deep seated racism in our society which has the potential of flaring up again to Nineteenth Century levels. Seeing that Islam is prevalent among Arabs, Western Asians and to a lesser extent Africans, this can be seen as fueling hatred between European-Americans and people of color.
In traditional societies, even among Christians, women are sometime seen as being inferior to men and maybe be regarded as property. These societies need to evolve but evolution is a slow process.
It would be more interesting if all of your sources were not avowedly right wing anti immigrant sources. None of these reports come from any recognized journalistic source. As far as the one video they all refer to it is indeed interesting but does not make the conclusion that all "non western" appearing males were Muslim much less practicing Muslims. It would be very interesting to see the numbers of those actually convicted of the crime not victim identification of some person's ethnicity.
Overall I woould say blatant xenophobia.
I agree with MW. Here is some information from the sites linked in the OP.
Coach Is Right is a right-wing sight that among other blogs incorrectly states the even if Barak Obama was born in the US he is not a citizen because his father was not.Link 1
American Renaissance is an anti-immigrant white supremacist site, that states on its What We Believe page
Race is an important aspect of individual and group identity. Of all the fault lines that divide society — language, religion, class, ideology — it is the most prominent and divisive. Race and racial conflict are at the heart of the most serious challenges the Western World faces in the 21st century. The problems of race cannot be solved without adequate understanding. Attempts to gloss over the significance of race or even to deny its reality only make problems worse. Progress requires the study of all aspects of race, whether historical, cultural, or biological. This approach is known as race realism.Link 2
Midnight Watchers Blog is an Islamophobic Christian Apocalyptic site that also spouts "Birther" nonsense
“An international expert on scanners and document-imaging software filed a 22-page criminal complaint with the FBI, charging that the long-form birth certificate released by the White House is criminally fraudulent. ‘What the Obama administration released is a PDF image that they are trying to pass off as a Certificate of Live Birth Long Form printed on green security paper by the Hawaiian Health Department,’ Doug Vogt writes, ‘but this form is a created forgery.’Link 3
Council of Conservative Citizens is a Christian Identity site which states in it Principles page
(2) We believe the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people. We believe that the United States derives from and is an integral part of European civilization and the European people and that the American people and government should remain European in their composition and character. We therefore oppose the massive immigration of non-European and non-Western peoples into the United States that threatens to transform our nation into a non-European majority in our lifetime. We believe that illegal immigration must be stopped, if necessary by military force and placing troops on our national borders; that illegal aliens must be returned to their own countries; and that legal immigration must be severely restricted or halted through appropriate changes in our laws and policies. We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called “affirmative action” and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races.Link 4
Un:dhimm is a British right wing Islamophobic site that states on its about page
With a British perspective, this site is part of a wider attempt to educate the civilised world out of its complacency regarding radical Islam and Jihad; and the clear and imminent danger these represent. There are other sites in this loose coalition. Some of them are very good indeed; written with scholarly insight, clear logical thinking, and yes, even humour. You’ll find these in the ‘Blogroll’ section – a list of personally-selected links to sites that are supportive of us and/or our position – and are in turn supported by ourselves. We will not only report the bad things. Positive moves to educate the public, contributions to counteract the threat (from the inside as well as externally), indeed counter-initiatives across the range, will be noted and acknowledged. We will not only write, however, we will take positive, legal and non-violent action ourselves and encourage others to: Fight the Jihadists and the Islamisation of the civilised world Expose their enablers in the political class, particularly the cabal of Marxist-leaning, left-wing multiculturalists and others who, in their race to be seen as more politically correct than the other fellow, are causing immense damage Protest at the increasing tendency of Western governments, quasi-governmental and unelected organisations to stifle dissent and free speech about Islamisation, immigration abuse and related issuesLink 5
"The genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs." -- Justice William Brennan: Speech to the Text and Teaching Symposium at Georgetown University,(October 12, 1985)
