Muslim Assimilation in Europe

They came in boats, rafts… anything that floats. To Europe. Lebanon. Anywhere they could. Over land, past hostile immigration barriers, barbed wire and angry locals. Some were assisted. Some were sent back. Some died from the journey. And still they poured in. Civil wars in North Africa, Syria and Iraq. Drought. Some stopped in nearby Arab nations, many in Lebanon. Poor. Penniless. Culturally so different from those in the European lands they had entered. Darker skin met angry local eyes. Islam faced mostly Christian believers. Language barriers made the transition difficult. Hordes. Few landed in Eastern Europe where language barriers and the most virulent hostility made entry difficult, notwithstanding European Union mandates to accept these wannabe immigrants.

Most landed in the UK, France and Germany. The UK, already expanded by generations of colonial Muslims settling in, was better prepared… but still hostile to the new arrivals. Germany and France reluctantly accepted what they felt was a supportable mass. France made sure these new residents knew they were not welcome. Germany, still somewhat hostile (particularly the growing nationalist right-wing) at first, found ways to teach the language, train for new required job skills and provide housing. To the surprise of most Germans, these recent immigrées managed to hold on to much of their culture while assimilating into Germany almost seamlessly. The expected surge in Islamist terrorism never materialized. They found jobs, went to university and added value to the German workforce. 

And then there was France. Making sure that those of Arab heritage knew that most of the French resented these foreigners and their faith, the ghettoization of these settlers, their difficulties finding jobs and assistance in assimilating, generated swaths of terrorist incidents, many fomented by these recent arrivals or those children of earlier waves of Islamic migration into France. Why? How did Germany pull it off, while France continues to reel and rail against Muslim migrations? After all, France was a colonial power with deep roots into Arab lands.

Perhaps the answer lies in the respective views on assimilation. Nazi treatment of those with differing religious and cultural views – the prime mover of the Holocaust – was such an embarrassment to modern Germany that tolerance became a cherished value at the top of their cultural choices. It became possible to adhere to Islam and Arab cultural practices while becoming a productive and accepted member German society. France required migrants to relinquish their former culture and move strictly into traditional views of “being French.” The hijab, Muslim religious symbols, and holding a parallel cultural life were simply outlawed… often by law. Muslims were not welcome into many neighborhoods, forced into pockets of isolated communities.

“For France, the issue has its roots in the country’s domestic and international politics. The concept of radical assimilation has been a part of France’s governance tradition since its colonial reign. In the 19th and 20th centuries, in Francophone Africa, the natives were considered ‘French’ and ‘civilized’ as long as they rejected their own cultures in favor of that of the colonial power.

“The same mentality applies to the immigrants who have moved to France from former African colonies, particularly Algeria, Tunisia, and those countries across West Africa. This strict interpretation of the assimilation policy is further reinforced at home by the rigorous redefinition of French secularism, or laïcité, whereby the visibility of religion, particularly Islam, is suppressed in the public sphere, and the responsibility of immigrants, and Muslims in particular, is to demonstrate their attachment to French values and culture.

“The suppression of religion in the public sphere has created enormous friction between the secular state and Muslims, whose faith requires observance around the clock. For example, the arrest of Muslims who have had to pray in the streets due to lack of mosques has become commonplace. In a striking display of French secularism, a Muslim woman was forced on a beach in Cannes in 2016 by police to remove her Islamic burkini and given a citation for ‘wearing an outfit that disrespects good morals and secularism.’ France’s aggressive attempt to create nationwide equality has naturally led to repression of diversity, forcing Muslims to retreat to ghettoized suburbs. This in turn created discrimination and a fear of social rejection among France’s rapidly growing Muslim population.” The Fair Observer, November 5, 2020. This attitude has led to an “us versus them” approach.

Of the eleven significant terrorist incidents in Europe in 2019 and 2020, most occurred in France, and only one (a relatively minor knife attack in Dresden) occurred in Germany. The view of most Germans of their nascent Arab immigrants has been one of pleasant surprise. Meanwhile, in France, retired Generals – supported by many in the military – raged in public: “A new open letter has been published in France warning of the threat of civil war and claiming to have more than 130,000 signatures from the public… The message, published in a right-wing magazine, accuses the French government of granting ‘concessions’ to Islamism… ‘It is about the survival of our country,’ said the text, said to be issued anonymously by soldiers and appealing for public support.” BBC.com, May 10th.

As Germany supports immigrants to respect and continue their culture openly (see above picture), France continues to view practicing such cultural manifestations as a threat. Arabs and Muslims are kept separated, denied opportunities and constantly reminded that their religious and cultural practices cannot be tolerated in the French view of assimilation. What is fascinating is what works, what grows the internal benefit of immigration, and what does not work. See any parallels to the vision of immigrants here in the United States?

I’m Peter Dekom, and if the notion of poor but hardworking immigrations – from Scandinavian, Irish and Italian waves of immigrants – has indeed grown the political and economic power of the United States, what does the nascent open hostility to the same kind of immigration from people with slightly darker skin augur for our future growth?