THINK-ISRAEL

ISLAM IN THE HEART OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE

by Dennis MacEoin

The city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, the heart of England, the place where the Industrial Revolution began, the second city of the UK and the eighth-largest in Europe, today is Britain's most dangerous city. With a large and growing Muslim population, five of its electoral wards have the highest levels of radicalization and terrorism in the country.

In February, French journalist Rachida Samouri published an article[1] in the Parisian daily Le Figaro, in which she recounted her experiences during a visit there. In "Birmingham à l'heure islamiste" ("Birmingham in the Time of Islam") she describes her unease with the growing dislocation between normative British values and those of the several Islamic enclaves. She mentions the Small Heath quarter, where nearly 95% of the population is Muslim, where little girls wear veils; most of the men wear beards, and women wear jilbabs and niqabs to cover their bodies and faces. Market stalls close for the hours of prayer; the shops display Islamic clothes and the bookshops are all religious. Women she interviewed condemned France as a dictatorship based on secularism (laïcité), which they said they regarded as "a pretext for attacking Muslims". They also said that they approved of the UK because it allowed them to wear a full veil.

Another young woman, Yasmina, explained that, although she may go out to a club at night, during the day she is forced to wear a veil and an abaya [full body covering]. She then goes on to speak of the extremists:

"In England, they are free to speak. They speak only of prohibitions, they impose on one their rigid vision of Islam but, on the other hand, they listen to no-one, most of all those who disagree with them."

Speaking of the state schools, Samouri describes "an Islamization of education unthinkable in our [French] secular republic". Later, she interviews Ali, an 18-year-old of French origin, whose father has become radicalized. Ali talks about his experience of Islamic education:

"There are plenty of private Muslim schools and madrasas in this city. They pretend that they all preach tolerance, love and peace, but that isn't true. Behind their walls, they force-feed us with repetitive verses of the Qur'an, about hate and intolerance."

Samouri cites Ali on the iron discipline imposed on him, the brutality used, the punishment for refusing to learn the Qur'an by heart without understanding a word of it, or for admitting he has a girlfriend.

Elsewhere, Samouri notes young Muslim preachers for whom "Shari'a law remains the only safety for the soul and the only code of law to which we must refer". She interviews members of a Shari'a "court" before speaking with Gina Khan, an ex-Muslim who belongs to the anti-Shari'a organization One Law for All. According to Samouri, Khan -- a secular feminist -- considers the tribunals "a pretext for keeping women under pressure and a means for the religious fundamentalists to extend their influence within the community".

Another teenager of French origin explains how his father prefers Birmingham to France because "one can wear the veil without any problem and one can find schools where boys and girls do not mix". "Birmingham," says Mobin, "is a little like a Muslim country. We are among ourselves, we do not mix. It's hard".

Samouri herself finds this contrast between secular France and Muslim England disturbing. She sums it up thus:

"A state within a state, or rather a rampant Islamization of one part of society -- [is] something which France has succeeded in holding off for now, even if its secularist model is starting to be put to the test".

Another French commentator,[2] republishing Samouri's article, writes, "Birmingham is worse than Molenbeek" -- the Brussels borough that The Guardian[3] described as "becoming known as Europe's jihadi central."

The comparison with Molenbeek may be somewhat exaggerated. What is perplexing is that French writers should focus on a British city when, in truth, the situation in France -- despite its secularism -- is in some ways far worse than in the UK. Recent authors have commented on France's growing love for Islam[4] and its increasing weakness[5] in the face of Islamist criminality. This weakness has been framed by a politically-correct desire to stress a multiculturalist policy at the expense of taking Muslim extremists and fundamentalist organizations at face value and with zero tolerance for their anti-Western rhetoric and actions. The result? Jihadist attacks in France have been among the worst in history. It is calculated that the country has some some 751 no-go zones[6] ("zones urbaines sensibles"), places where extreme violence breaks out from time to time and where the police, firefighters, and other public agents dare not enter for fear of provoking further violence.

Many national authorities and much of the media deny that such enclaves exist, but as the Norwegian expert Fjordman has recently explained:[7]

If you say that there are some areas where even the police are afraid to go, where the country's normal, secular laws barely apply, then it is indisputable that such areas now exist in several Western European countries. France is one of the hardest hit: it has a large population of Arab and African immigrants, including millions of Muslims.

There are no such zones in the UK, certainly not at that level. There are Muslim enclaves in several cities where a non-Muslim may not be welcome; places that resemble Pakistan or Bangladesh more than England. But none of these is a no-go zone in the French, German or Swedish sense -- places where the police, ambulances, and fire brigades are attacked if they enter, and where the only way in (to fight a fire, for example) is under armed escort.

Samouri opens her article with a bold-type paragraph stating:

"In the working-class quarters of the second city of England, the sectarian lifestyle of the Islamists increasingly imposes itself and threatens to blow up a society which has fallen victim to its multicultural utopia".

Has she seen something British commentators have missed?

The Molenbeek comparison may not be entirely exaggerated. In a 1000-page report,[8] "Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998-2015)," written by the respected analyst Hannah Stuart for Britain's Henry Jackson Society, Birmingham is named more than once as Britain's leading source of terrorism. [A]

One conclusion that stands out is that terror convictions have apparently doubled in the past five years. Worse, the number of offenders not previously known to the authorities has increased sharply. Women's involvement in terrorism, although still less than men's, "has trebled over the same period". Alarmingly, "Proportionally, offences involving beheadings or stabbings (planned or otherwise) increased eleven-fold across the time periods, from 4% to 44%." (p. xi)

Only 10% of the attacks are committed by "lone wolves"; almost 80% were affiliated with, inspired by or linked to extremist networks -- with 25% linked to al-Muhajiroun alone. As the report points out, that organization (which went under various names) was once defended by some Whitehall officials -- a clear indication of governmental naivety.

cbh
Omar Bakri Muhammed, who co-founded the British Islamist organization al-Muhajiroun, admitted in a 2013 television interview that he and co-founder Anjem Choudary sent western jihadists to fight in many different countries. (Image source: MEMRI video screenshot)

A more important conclusion, however, is that a clear link is shown between highly-segregated Muslim areas and terrorism. As the Times report on the Henry Jackson Society review points out, this link "was previously denied by many". On the one hand:

Nearly half of all British Muslims live in neighbourhoods where Muslims form less than a fifth of the population. However, a disproportionately low number of Islamist terrorists — 38% — come from such neighbourhoods. The city of Leicester, which has a sizeable but well-integrated Muslim population, has bred only two terrorists in the past 19 years.

But on the other hand:

Only 14% of British Muslims live in neighbourhoods that are more than 60% Muslim. However, the report finds, 24% of all Islamist terrorists come from these neighbourhoods. Birmingham, which has both a large and a highly segregated Muslim population, is perhaps the key example of the phenomenon.

The report continues:

Just five of Britain's 9,500 council wards — all in Birmingham — account for 26 convicted terrorists, a tenth of the national total. The wards — Springfield, Sparkbrook, Hodge Hill, Washwood Heath and Bordesley Green — contain sizeable areas where the vast majority of the population is Muslim.

Birmingham as a whole, with 234,000 Muslims across its 40 council wards, had 39 convicted terrorists. That is many more than its Muslim population would suggest, and more than West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire put together, even though their combined Muslim population is about 650,000, nearly three times that of Birmingham. There are pockets of high segregation in the north of England but they are much smaller than in Birmingham.

The greatest single number of convicted terrorists, 117, comes from London, but are much more widely spread across that city than in Birmingham and their numbers are roughly proportionate to the capital's million-strong Muslim community.

Hannah Stuart, the study's author, has observed[9] that her work has raised "difficult questions about how extremism takes root in deprived communities, many of which have high levels of segregation. Much more needs to be done to challenge extremism and promote pluralism and inclusivity on the ground."

Many observers say Birmingham has failed that test:

"It is a really strange situation," said Matt Bennett, the opposition spokesman for education on the council. "You have this closed community which is cut off from the rest of the city in lots of ways. The leadership of the council doesn't particularly wish to engage directly with Asian people — what they like to do is have a conversation with one person who they think can 'deliver' their support."

Clearly, lack of integration is, not surprisingly, the root of a growing problem. This is the central theme of Dame Louise Casey's important report of last December to the British government. Carried out under instructions of David Cameron, prime minister at the time, "The Casey Review: A review into opportunity and integration"[10] identifies some Muslim communities (essentially those formed by Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants and their offspring) as the most resistant to integration within British society. Such communities do little or nothing to encourage their children to join in non-Muslim education, events, or activities; many of their women speak no English and play no role within wider society, and large numbers say they prefer Islamic shari'a law to British law.

Casey makes particular reference to the infamous Trojan Horse plot, uncovered in 2014, in which Muslim radicals conspired to introduce fundamentalist Salafi doctrines and practices into a range of Birmingham schools -- not just private Muslim faith schools but regular state schools (pp. 114 ff.): "a number of schools in Birmingham had been taken over to ensure they were run on strict Islamic principles..."

It is important to note that these were not 'Muslim' or 'faith' schools. [Former British counterterrorism chief] Peter Clarke, in his July 2014 report[11] said:

"I took particular note of the fact that the schools where it is alleged that this has happened are state non-faith schools..."

He highlighted a range of inappropriate behaviour across the schools, such as irregularities in employment practices, bullying, intimidation, changes to the curriculum, inappropriate proselytizing in non-faith schools, unequal treatment and segregation. Specific examples included:

Casey then quotes Clarke's conclusion:

"There has been co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action, carried out by a number of associated individuals, to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos into a few schools in Birmingham. This has been achieved in a number of schools by gaining influence on the governing bodies, installing sympathetic headteachers or senior members of staff, appointing like-minded people to key positions, and seeking to remove head teachers they do not feel sufficiently compliant."

The situation, Casey states, although improved from 2014, remains unstable. She quotes Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, in a letter to the Secretary of State for Education, which declared as late as July 8, 2016, that the situation "remains fragile", with:

Elsewhere, Casey notes two further issues in Birmingham alone, which shed light on the city's Muslim population. Birmingham has the largest number of women who are non-proficient in English (p. 96) and the largest number of mosques (161) in the UK (p. 125).

For many years, the British government has fawned on its Muslim population; evidently the government thought that Muslims would in due course integrate, assimilate, and become fully British, as earlier immigrants had done. More than one survey, however, has shown that the younger generations are even more fundamentalist than their parents and grandparents, who came directly from Muslim countries. The younger generations were born in Britain but at a time when extremist Islam has been growing internationally, notably in countries with which British Muslim families have close connections. Not only that, but a plethora of fundamentalist preachers keep on passing through British Muslim enclaves. These preachers freely lecture in mosques and Islamic centres to youth organizations, and on college and university campuses.

Finally, it might be worth noting that Khalid Masood, a convert to Islam who killed four and injured many more during his attack outside the Houses of Parliament in March, had been living in Birmingham[12] before he set out to wage jihad in Britain's capital.

It is time for some hard thinking about the ways in which modern British tolerance of the intolerant and its embrace of a wished-for, peace-loving multiculturalism have furthered this regression. Birmingham is probably the place to start.

[A] Hard copies of the report may be purchased via PayPal here. Essays, summaries etc. may be linked to from here. An excellent summary by Soeren Kern is available online here.

Footnotes

[1] http://premium.lefigaro.fr/international/2017/02/24/01003-20170224ARTFIG00082-birmingham-a-l-heure-islamiste.php? een=5d370d8c6710538480f23a9b3748a5ed&seen=6&m_i= lq4ElcN94po6ejRQ0PicfPqH7qrjIQnbx1uP_U9kRRvdx4mKcUMZmNT3 japCFQOZBq4JzmUGzjmADS9n5B5JPh

[2] http://www.je-suis-stupide-j-ai-vote-hollande.fr/blog/birmingham-pire-que-molenbeek/http://www.je-suis-stupide-j-ai-vote-hollande.fr/blog/birmingham-pire-que-molenbeek/

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/15/molenbeek-the-brussels-borough-in-the-spotlight-after-paris-attacks

[4] https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10001/france-islam

[5] https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10007/france-death-spiral

[6] http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/11/the-751-no-go-zones-of-francehttp://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/11/the-751-no-go-zones-of-france

[7] https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10037/no-go-zones-europe

[8] http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Islamist-Terrorism-preview-1.pdf

[9] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/terror-map-reveals-danger-of-segregation-k33jddhk0

[10] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/575975/The_Casey_Review_Executive_Summary.pdf

[11] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/340526/HC_576_accessible_-.pdf

[12] http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/khalid-masood-named-birmingham-terrorist-12787878http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/khalid-masood-named-birmingham-terrorist-12787878


Some of the comments that added useful information.

Elizabeth Lawson

European countries - or indeed any country, that permits or ignores the growth of a toxic ideology in its midst, is headed for disaster. At last count, 90 thousand Christians have been murdered in the Middle East, with 600 million Christians unable to practice their faith. The simmering hatred of Islamists for all but themselves, and their arrogance in rejecting the very culture and politics of their host countries - which is what ensures 'life and limb' of all, is the direct result of the incompetence and stupidity of those who sit in government. It is now 72 years since the end of the last world war, and the number of survivors of that war, the citizens who can recall the viciousness, hatred, appalling death toll and destruction of their world, are few, but it is they who could inform the political elites of the day of the vagaries of man in wartime. Present leaders, many, but not all, hew to the notion that love, hugs, welfare, good food etc., will heal all ills and all divides. They have never known ruthlessness, and will, by all present indications, continue to support their stance. It may be inconvenient for these politicians to acknowledge the radicalization and hatred spewing out of 'teachers' in mosques and state ( paid by the long suffering taxpayer) run schools. Equally inconvenient for them is the awareness/ acceptance and recognition that their country has within it, many raised swords aimed directly at them. The world became tired of, and rejected war, quite some time ago. The preferred prescription for war being placating the aggressor. Neville Chamberlain proved the folly of that course. Now, European countries have reached the inevitable impasse concerning clamping down and/ or deporting offenders against the state, those at least who were not born in Europe. The fermentation of this dreadful, anarchic ideology has been wildly successful in Europe, and its adherents will rise up against any force that attempts to end their goal of overthrowing the state. Absolutely nothing has been gained by the velvet glove approach to the frightening growth of this ideology - but SO much has been lost.

Roger De Coverly

We must understand that there is no such thing as "radicalized" Muslims. Muslims either follow the ways and words of Islam's inventor, Muhammad or they are apostates or hypocrites and therefore deserving of death under shariah law. There are some minority sects that have their own concept of Islam but they are classed as apostates by mainstream Islam and regarded as no better than the kufar.

If anyone wants to know about Islam, consult the best expert on the matter, Muhammad. It is his words and actions that count, no one else can change his doctrine. It is permanent, forever.

Strangely, islamisation of Europe was planned, along with the abolition of the Nation State. The two are obviously linked. Islam has one goal, one goal only; world domination under the Shariah. The world either submits or the people are killed or subdued under dhimmitude.

b.a. freeman

Peter, devout muslims don't care what the law says, because the quran tells them that allah's law should be the only law. they consider muhammed to be the "perfect man" and the "model of conduct;" we need to look at muslim holy literature to see what he did so that we can see what devout muslims should do. muhammed had an enemy (who had not physically attacked him, according to the "holy" literature), so he asked his followers if somebody would rid him of this attacker. one of the muslims said that he would do it, but he needed permission to lie to be able to get close to him. muhammed gave him explicit permission to lie, and the victim was murdered. the ulema (muslim legal experts/clergy) has interpreted that as permission for any muslim to lie to advance islam. besides ordering murders, muhammed also robbed caravans, murdering all the guards after they surrendered. he attacked unarmed farmers, murdering them and immediately raping their widows and orphans (and then sold them into slavery for more armament). his favorite wife was 6 when he "married" her, and 9 when he "consummated" the "marriage." the quran, the collections of ahadith (short stories about muhammed and the first muslims), and biographies of muhammed all tell muslims to do what muhammed did. islam is the manual for running a hyper-violent gang.

there is *no* *other* *source* for information about muhammed than islamic holy literature, and these stories are all found there. if a muslim does *not* practice jihad, he is not doing what muhammed and allah commanded him to do. your average "peaceful" muslim just doesn't know his religion very well. that's understandable, however, because the holy literature is read to muslims in the mosque in arabic, and the imam tells his congregation what it means. if the imam doesn't tell his congregation about something, they won't know about it.

the bottom line is that islam is the oldest and most dangerous threat to civilization today; if it wins, civilization and non-muslim activities like art, music, history, and science (all deemed blasphemous by islam for almost 1000 years) will cease.

Dean

The dhimmitude in Canada is becoming ridiculous. In the following example a Muslim Leader is calling for a jihad (which he paints as an : "inner/spiritual jihad") in his goal to join hands with a Polish man on a Police board who feels disgruntled that his Jewish (woman) colleague dare say that poles killed Jews during WWII (in fact approximately 3 million Jews were killed at the time). He is asking for the Jewish woman to be removed and asks of the Police: "Where is the hijab-wearing member?" So, in this "jihad" he is demanding that Jews be replaced by a hijab-wearer in the name of, get this, diversity and inclusion.

See link: http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/7233656-hamilton-police-services-board-needs-diversity/

I don't know how you feel about this but to have a western newspaper with a large circulation print such a call for jihad and to disguise jihad as an inner spiritual quest tells me that the new status quo in mainstream media and leftist society in general want jihad, want sharia (Canada certainly does as the recent parliamentary "Islamophobia" motion proves) and want an end to civilization as we know — they want it replaced by Islamization.

Jeff Page

And we all need to stand up and applaud all the mainstream politicians alongside the liberal loony left for their part in totally destroying European culture and for taking away, freedom of speech.

Special recognition must go to Tony Blair who as PM allowed many thousands of Muslims to enter Britain, apparently seeking sanctuary from persecution in their own countries, only for them to bring their culture and incompatible religion with them! And special recognition must go to past and current governments for failing to prevent Islam from practising their religion and preaching intolerance without any challenge. Then we have local council officials for allowing Muslims to dictate what our children should eat at school, and we mustn't forget the demands to segregate boys from girls.

Do our politicians honestly think that our civilisation is progressing?

Have they not seen the danger of children being forced to study the Koran at home and in after hours classes? More importantly, do they honestly, and without any reservations consider Islam to be a religion that preaches and promotes peace? Not a hope in hell!



Dr. Denis MacEoin is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute. He has recently completed a book on causes for concern about Islam in the UK. This article was published April 23, 2017 on the Gatestone Institute website and is archived at
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10190/islam-england-france



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