rape, a photograph was taken showing her face and hair streaked with blood. A very disturbing photograph. It was seized upon by a number of conservative pundits as evidence of the dastardly deeds being committed against the women of Europe by immigrant Muslims, many of whom happen to be African in origin. The attempt to appropriate an atrocity of this sort as symbol, is typical of the attitude that drives some hard line conservative thinking, bent and determined as it is to wake up sleeping demons and stir up reaction. It's not unlike the whipping up of communal rage back in Jim Crow days in the southern States. In that era white victims of 'raThe problem with a good deal of the rhetoric that presents Islam as a threat to Europe, is that much of it is alarmist and exaggerated. I bought into the alarmist view, until I took a closer look behind the scenes at what is actually going on in the immigrant communities of Europe. Nobody can deny that there are both threats and challenges to be faced, but the rhetoric coming from some circles on the right makes use of selective evidence in order to scare up a reaction. The constant refrain from these forums is unvarying in its negativity. With Chicken Little conviction they warn the complacent and the gullible that "the Muslims are coming ... the Muslims are coming". This type of characterization lacks discrimination. The same large brush is used for every stroke.

A number of right wing forums cite rape stats from countries such as Sweden and Norway. Some of the figures indicate that a disproportionate number of rapists are of immigrant origin. These stats are offered up, not to generate discussion about possible causes, but in an effort to instill the conviction that civilization is under threat. Some pundits go so far as to argue that Muslim males conspire to sexually assault unveiled Western women because such women are guilty of violating Islamic standards. There may be some truth to this in a minority of cases, but in most instances such rationales are offered as an alibi by perpetrators after-the-fact. Most of these guys aren't convincing in the role of zealots on rape missions from Allah. However the commentators rarely point out such fine distinctions, nor do they make the observation that many immigrants only identify passively with Islam (quite a number rarely darken the door of a mosque). Nor do they consider that many newcomers are unemployed, have anger issues, are alienated from the greater society and are in possession of the belief that they have nothing much to lose.

Americans I speak to these days often complain about the crimes allegedly committed by illegal migrants, mostly of Mexican origin. However no big deal is made about the fact that most of these migrants are Catholic. Their crimes aren't portrayed as a Catholic conspiracy because to do so would strike any reasonable person as patently absurd. The immigrant challenges in Europe and America aren't analogous, but in both cases religion is rarely the prime motivator when it comes to sexual and property crimes.

Not so long ago, a young woman in Sweden was savagely gang raped by immigrants of Somali origin. The victim happened to be a fair haired Caucasian. When she reported the rape, a photograph was taken showing her face and hair streaked with blood. A very disturbing photograph. It was seized upon by a number of conservative pundits as evidence of the dastardly deeds being committed against the women of Europe by immigrant Muslims, many of whom happen to be African in origin. The attempt to appropriate an atrocity of this sort as symbol, is typical of the attitude that drives some hard line conservative thinking, bent and determined as it is to wake up sleeping demons and stir up reaction. It's not unlike the whipping up of communal rage back in Jim Crow days in the southern States. In that era white victims of 'rac

he Muslims are coming". This type of characterization lacks discrimination. The same large brush is used for every stroke.

A number of right wing forums cite rape stats from countries such as Sweden and Norway. Some of the figures indicate that a disproportionate number of rapists are of immigrant origin. These stats are offered up, not to generate discussion about possible causes, but in an effort to instill the conviction that civilization is under threat. Some pundits go so far as to argue that Muslim males conspire to sexually assault unveiled Western women because such women are guilty of violating Islamic standards. There may be some truth to this in a minority of cases, but in most instances such rationales are offered as an alibi by perpetrators after-the-fact. Most of these guys aren't convincing in the role of zealots on rape missions from Allah. However the commentators rarely point out such fine distinctions, nor do they make the observation that many immigrants only identify passively with Islam (quite a number rarely darken the door of a mosque). Nor do they consider that many newcomers are unemployed, have anger issues, are alienated from the greater society and are in possession of the belief that they have nothing much to lose.

Americans I speak to these days often complain about the crimes allegedly committed by illegal migrants, mostly of Mexican origin. However no big deal is made about the fact that most of these migrants are Catholic. Their crimes aren't portrayed as a Catholic conspiracy because to do so would strike any reasonable person as patently absurd. The immigrant challenges in Europe and America aren't analogous, but in both cases religion is rarely the prime motivator when it comes to sexual and property crimes.

Not so long ago, a young woman in Sweden was savagely gang raped by immigrants of Somali origin. The victim happened to be a fair haired Caucasian. When she reported the rape, a photograph was taken showing her face and hair streaked with blood. A very disturbing photograph. It was seized upon by a number of conservative pundits as evidence of the dastardly deeds being committed against the women of Europe by immigrant Muslims, many of whom happen to be African in origin. The attempt to appropriate an atrocity of this sort as symbol, is typical of the attitude that drives some hard line conservative thinking, bent and determined as it is to wake up sleeping demons and stir up reaction. It's not unlike the whipping up of communal rage back in Jim Crow days in the southern States. In that era white victims of 'ra

truth to this in a minority of cases, but in most instances such rationales are offered as an alibi by perpetrators after-the-fact. Most of these guys aren't convincing in the role of zealots on rape missions from Allah. However the commentators rarely point out such fine distinctions, nor do they make the observation that many immigrants only identify passively with Islam (quite a number rarely darken the door of a mosque). Nor do they consider that many newcomers are unemployed, have anger issues, are alienated from the greater society and are in possession of the belief that they have nothing much to lose.

Americans I speak to these days often complain about the crimes allegedly committed by illegal migrants, mostly of Mexican origin. However no big deal is made about the fact that most of these migrants are Catholic. Their crimes aren't portrayed as a Catholic conspiracy because to do so would strike any reasonable person as patently absurd. The immigrant challenges in Europe and America aren't analogous, but in both cases religion is rarely the prime motivator when it comes to sexual and property crimes.

Not so long ago, a young woman in Sweden was savagely gang raped by immigrants of Somali origin. The victim happened to be a fair haired Caucasian. When she reported the rape, a photograph was taken showing her face and hair streaked with blood. A very disturbing photograph. It was seized upon by a number of conservative pundits as evidence of the dastardly deeds being committed against the women of Europe by immigrant Muslims, many of whom happen to be African in origin. The attempt to appropriate an atrocity of this sort as symbol, is typical of the attitude that drives some hard line conservative thinking, bent and determined as it is to wake up sleeping demons and stir up reaction. It's not unlike the whipping up of communal rage back in Jim Crow days in the southern States. In that era white victims of 'ra

often complain about the crimes allegedly committed by illegal migrants, mostly of Mexican origin. However no big deal is made about the fact that most of these migrants are Catholic. Their crimes aren't portrayed as a Catholic conspiracy because to do so would strike any reasonable person as patently absurd. The immigrant challenges in Europe and America aren't analogous, but in both cases religion is rarely the prime motivator when it comes to sexual and property crimes.

Not so long ago, a young woman in Sweden was savagely gang raped by immigrants of Somali origin. The victim happened to be a fair haired Caucasian. When she reported the rape, a photograph was taken showing her face and hair streaked with blood. A very disturbing photograph. It was seized upon by a number of conservative pundits as evidence of the dastardly deeds being committed against the women of Europe by immigrant Muslims, many of whom happen to be African in origin. The attempt to appropriate an atrocity of this sort as symbol, is typical of the attitude that drives some hard line conservative thinking, bent and determined as it is to wake up sleeping demons and stir up reaction. It's not unlike the whipping up of communal rage back in Jim Crow days in the southern States. In that era white victims of 'ra

rape, a photograph was taken showing her face and hair streaked with blood. A very disturbing photograph. It was seized upon by a number of conservative pundits as evidence of the dastardly deeds being committed against the women of Europe by immigrant Muslims, many of whom happen to be African in origin. The attempt to appropriate an atrocity of this sort as symbol, is typical of the attitude that drives some hard line conservative thinking, bent and determined as it is to wake up sleeping demons and stir up reaction. It's not unlike the whipping up of communal rage back in Jim Crow days in the southern States. In that era white victims of 'racial' rape were routinely objectified in an effort to paint the African male as a degenerate sex demon driven by Dionysiac lust. That type of blatantly racist stereotyping doesn't play as well these days, but nonetheless, behind a lot of the alarmist photographs and commentary, there is the meta-message that Muslims are the primary suspects - predators and assassins lurking in our midst, just waiting for their opportunity to strike.

You almost never see any posts on these forums that take time to explore the day-to-day human realities of Muslim communities in Europe, the struggle of individuals to adapt. Nor are they inclined much to talk about Muslims who have defected to a more secular lifestyle, or those who have defected to the enemy - become Christian. Why not? Well because none of that caters to the central motivation, which is to demonize and cast the Muslim immigrant as 'other'. A threat whichever way you cut it.

Those who create a stockade mentality in some cases lose touch with reality. The views of such people are pre-conditioned by their prejudices. Everything is a conspiracy. People of goodwill who seek to reach out across the divide in search for viable solutions are regarded as fools, ostriches and even traitors. The stockade mentality is defined by hubris and defiance. Naturally their prejudices are re-enforced by their experiences, because when you traffic in negativity that's what you can expect to get back in return. It's a closed-circuit world they live in, where the only messages received are the ones that confirm their version of reality. I'm unclear what these crusading pundits are defending exactly. Militant Christendom of the crusading ilk exists mainly in the imaginations of people who adhere to a view of European civilization that is rooted in the past and heading into the twilight. The reactionary tendencies in countries like Poland and among groups of nationalist fanatics will not lead to some latter-day revival of an identity that has gradually been falling out of fashion.

Writers such as Mark Steyn and others dismiss the secular identities of Europe as "decadent" and seem nostalgic for the days of warrior guardians-of-hearth-and-home with wives who double as baby making machines. At times Mark is right on the money in his columns. He's a guy who can write with great skill and offers up refreshingly original opinion, but this is an absurd and anachronistic view, that misrepresents what is actually going on in Europe. Not every Muslim fits the stereotype, nor does every advocate of secular values ... this must be an annoyin