Jack_Berry
Moderator Emeritus
For those who admire, respect and believe Denmark was a beacon unto the world need to read this and worry about possible similarities to the USA
Salute to Denmark...This could very well happen here on our
Continent....
Susan MacAllen is a contributing editor for
(FamilySecurityMatters.org) Salute the Danish Flag - it's a Symbol of
Western Freedom By Susan MacAllen
In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark. But in 1978 - even
in Copenhagen, one didn't see Muslim immigrants.
The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic,
went out of its way to protect each of its citizens. It was proud of its new
brand of socialist liberalism one in development since the conservatives
had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to
survive, where one ultimately could count upon the state as in, perhaps,
no other western nation at the time.
The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking,
progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies. Denmark
boasted low crime rates, devotion to the environment, a superior
educational system and a history of humanitarianism.
Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it
offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant: generous welfare
payments from first arrival plus additional perks in transportation,
housing and education. It was determined to set a world example for inclusiveness
and multiculturalism.
How could it have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of
political cartoons in a newspaper would spark violence that would leave
dozens dead in the streets -all because its commitment to multiculturalism
would come back to bite?
By the 1990's the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - and
its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious.
Years of immigrants had settled int o Muslim- exclusive enclaves. As
the Muslim leadership became more vocal about what they considered the
decadence of Denmark's liberal way of life, the Danes - once so
welcoming - began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as incompatible
with their long-standi ng values: belief in personal liberty and free
speech, in equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep
pride in Danish heritage and history.
The New York Post in 2002 ran an article by Daniel Pipes and Lars
Hedegaard, in which they forecasted accurately that the growing immigrant
problem in Denmark would explode. In the article they reported:
'Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but
consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending.'
'Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmark's 5.4 million people but
make up a majority of the country's convicted rapists, an especially
combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are
non-Muslim. Similar, if lesser, disproportions are found in other
crimes.'
'Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish
less to mix with the indigenous population.
A recent survey finds that only 5 percent of young Muslim
immigrants would readily marry a Dane.'
'Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a
male cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him, sometimes on pain of death - are one problem'
'Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic
law once Denmark's Muslim population grows large enough - a
not-that-remote prospect. If present trends persist, one sociologist
estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim.'
It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel
that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws.
An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and
the U.S .: some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith
have been murdered in the name of Islam, while others hide in fear for their
lives. Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim leaders in
Denmark, a country where once Christian citizens worked to smuggle out
nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden - before the Nazis could
invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa - who as a teenager had dreaded
crossing the street to the bakery every morning under the eyes of
occupying Nazi soldiers - and I wonder what she would say today.
In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some
70 years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about liberal
unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest immigration
policies in Europe. ( Its effort to protect itself has been met with accusations of 'racism' by liberal media across Europe - even as other governments struggle
to right the social problems wrought by years of too-lax immigration.)
If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of
language classes. You must pass a test on Denmark's history, culture, and
a Danish language test.
You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for
citizenship. You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job
waiting.
If you wish to bring a spouse into Denmark, you must both be over 24 years
of age, and you won't find it so easy anymore to move your friends and
family to Denmark with you.
You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen. Although
your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language schools
in Denmark, they will be strongly encouraged to assimilate to Danish
society in ways that past immigrants weren't.
In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort
Frederiksen, spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the
Danish welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government's welfare committee
had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were
blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming
decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system as it
existed was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually
bankrupting the government. 'We are simply forced to adopt a new policy on
immigration.
The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show
how unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now,' he
said.
A large thorn in the side of Denmark's imams is the Minister of
Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj. She makes no bones about the
new policy toward immigration, 'The number of foreigners coming to the
country makes a difference,' Hvilshxj says, 'There is an inverse
correlation between how many come here and how well we can receive the foreigners that
come.' And on Muslim immigrants needing to demonstrate a willingness to
blend in, 'In my view, Denmark should be a country with
room for different cultures and religions. Some values, however,
are more important than others. We refuse to question democracy, equal
rights, and freedom of speech.'
Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone. Perhaps to test
her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu
Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the family of a
Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen, stating that the
family's thirst for revenge could be thwarted for money. When Hvilshoj dismissed
his demand, he argued that in Muslim culture the payment of retribution money
was common, to which Hvilshoj replied that what is done in a Muslim
country is not necessarily what is done in Denmark. The Muslim reply came soon
after: her house was torched while she, her husband and children slept.
All managed to escape unharmed, but she and her family were moved to a secret
location and she and other ministers were assigned bodyguards for the
first time - in a count ry where such murderous violence was once so scarce.
Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have
tightened. Many believe that what happens in the next decade will
determine whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking and
social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil war with
supporters of Sharia law.
And meanwhile, Americans clamor for stricter immigration policies,
and demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants to
live on the public dole. As we in America look at the enclaves of Muslims
amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily, dare live on
our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our traditions,
participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak our language,
appreciate our history . . we would do well to look to Denmark, and say a
prayer for her future and for our own..
If you agree with this article, then please pass it on....
or is it already here from south of the border??
Salute to Denmark...This could very well happen here on our
Continent....
Susan MacAllen is a contributing editor for
(FamilySecurityMatters.org) Salute the Danish Flag - it's a Symbol of
Western Freedom By Susan MacAllen
In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark. But in 1978 - even
in Copenhagen, one didn't see Muslim immigrants.
The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic,
went out of its way to protect each of its citizens. It was proud of its new
brand of socialist liberalism one in development since the conservatives
had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to
survive, where one ultimately could count upon the state as in, perhaps,
no other western nation at the time.
The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking,
progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies. Denmark
boasted low crime rates, devotion to the environment, a superior
educational system and a history of humanitarianism.
Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it
offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant: generous welfare
payments from first arrival plus additional perks in transportation,
housing and education. It was determined to set a world example for inclusiveness
and multiculturalism.
How could it have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of
political cartoons in a newspaper would spark violence that would leave
dozens dead in the streets -all because its commitment to multiculturalism
would come back to bite?
By the 1990's the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - and
its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious.
Years of immigrants had settled int o Muslim- exclusive enclaves. As
the Muslim leadership became more vocal about what they considered the
decadence of Denmark's liberal way of life, the Danes - once so
welcoming - began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as incompatible
with their long-standi ng values: belief in personal liberty and free
speech, in equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep
pride in Danish heritage and history.
The New York Post in 2002 ran an article by Daniel Pipes and Lars
Hedegaard, in which they forecasted accurately that the growing immigrant
problem in Denmark would explode. In the article they reported:
'Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but
consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending.'
'Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmark's 5.4 million people but
make up a majority of the country's convicted rapists, an especially
combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are
non-Muslim. Similar, if lesser, disproportions are found in other
crimes.'
'Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish
less to mix with the indigenous population.
A recent survey finds that only 5 percent of young Muslim
immigrants would readily marry a Dane.'
'Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a
male cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him, sometimes on pain of death - are one problem'
'Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic
law once Denmark's Muslim population grows large enough - a
not-that-remote prospect. If present trends persist, one sociologist
estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim.'
It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel
that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws.
An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and
the U.S .: some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith
have been murdered in the name of Islam, while others hide in fear for their
lives. Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim leaders in
Denmark, a country where once Christian citizens worked to smuggle out
nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden - before the Nazis could
invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa - who as a teenager had dreaded
crossing the street to the bakery every morning under the eyes of
occupying Nazi soldiers - and I wonder what she would say today.
In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some
70 years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about liberal
unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest immigration
policies in Europe. ( Its effort to protect itself has been met with accusations of 'racism' by liberal media across Europe - even as other governments struggle
to right the social problems wrought by years of too-lax immigration.)
If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of
language classes. You must pass a test on Denmark's history, culture, and
a Danish language test.
You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for
citizenship. You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job
waiting.
If you wish to bring a spouse into Denmark, you must both be over 24 years
of age, and you won't find it so easy anymore to move your friends and
family to Denmark with you.
You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen. Although
your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language schools
in Denmark, they will be strongly encouraged to assimilate to Danish
society in ways that past immigrants weren't.
In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort
Frederiksen, spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the
Danish welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government's welfare committee
had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were
blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming
decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system as it
existed was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually
bankrupting the government. 'We are simply forced to adopt a new policy on
immigration.
The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show
how unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now,' he
said.
A large thorn in the side of Denmark's imams is the Minister of
Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj. She makes no bones about the
new policy toward immigration, 'The number of foreigners coming to the
country makes a difference,' Hvilshxj says, 'There is an inverse
correlation between how many come here and how well we can receive the foreigners that
come.' And on Muslim immigrants needing to demonstrate a willingness to
blend in, 'In my view, Denmark should be a country with
room for different cultures and religions. Some values, however,
are more important than others. We refuse to question democracy, equal
rights, and freedom of speech.'
Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone. Perhaps to test
her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu
Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the family of a
Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen, stating that the
family's thirst for revenge could be thwarted for money. When Hvilshoj dismissed
his demand, he argued that in Muslim culture the payment of retribution money
was common, to which Hvilshoj replied that what is done in a Muslim
country is not necessarily what is done in Denmark. The Muslim reply came soon
after: her house was torched while she, her husband and children slept.
All managed to escape unharmed, but she and her family were moved to a secret
location and she and other ministers were assigned bodyguards for the
first time - in a count ry where such murderous violence was once so scarce.
Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have
tightened. Many believe that what happens in the next decade will
determine whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking and
social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil war with
supporters of Sharia law.
And meanwhile, Americans clamor for stricter immigration policies,
and demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants to
live on the public dole. As we in America look at the enclaves of Muslims
amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily, dare live on
our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our traditions,
participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak our language,
appreciate our history . . we would do well to look to Denmark, and say a
prayer for her future and for our own..
If you agree with this article, then please pass it on....
or is it already here from south of the border??