The Pitch: Banning All Religion

[colinmackay]

I wonder, Colin, I was just reading an article on the growth of the Islamist movement in Europe. Is that something that is factual, is there a valid worry in the UK and Europe about Islamists or is this just reactionary hype from ultraconservative factions over there?

Interesting question.

Turkey, a secular Islamic country (and by that I mean the majority religion is Islam, but the government is strictly secular - church and state are separate) and has been seeking entry to the EU for some time now. It has made massive moves forward at the request of the EU in order to be eligible to join (notwithstanding that only a small portion of Turkey is geographically in Europe). However, Turkey keeps getting told they are not eligible yet, and the Turks are getting frustrated at this and say that it is only because it would make it the only majority Islam country in the EU. I can see where they are coming from because some far right politicians in have made a lot of anti-islamist noise over the last few years.

I've heard increasing reports that Amsterdam, one of my favourite cities (I briefly worked in the Netherlands 10+ years ago) is increasingly less safe for LGBT because of the increasing Muslim population in the city. The most tolerant peoples of Europe, the Dutch, are becoming restless enough to have voted in anti-Islamic politicians (Pim Fortuyn [assasinated] and Ayaan Hirsi Ali [in secured location] being the ones that immediately spring to mind) which came as a bit of a shock in the UK.

So, is there a valid worry, or is it just ultra-conservative extremists?

Mainstream politicians tend to condemn, yet take notice, when far right politicians get voted in. The BNP (Far right racist homophobic party) have been voted in in parts of England in recent years. Publicly mainstream politicians say it is just isolated instances, but there are 2 MEPs (Member of the European Parliament) in England for the BNP and MEPs have the largest constituencies (~1 million voters) which to me suggests a broader range of support than if it was merely a city councillor (with only a couple of thousand voters).

I think there are worries, but I think the more engaged (get everyone talking to each other and find out that we're really not all that different) approach works well to diffuse tensions rather than the we-come-in-peace-shoot-to-kill style we seem to see in the US (but that's just my perception, many friends have scared me from travelling because of the TSA's over zealousness more than any terrorist threat)