Salute to Denmark
TheZ
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 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 into 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
theirlong-standing 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.
An article by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard, in which they forecast,
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 - anot-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
Canada: 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
ofImmigration 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,' Hvilshoj 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
hisdemand, 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 country 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
determinewhether 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, Canadians 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 Canada look at the enclaves of Muslims amongst
us, and seethose 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..
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