Islamic Migration into Europe & Its Negative Effects

It is no secret that Europe has experienced a massive influx of Islamic people over the last few decades. The German Central Institute Islam Archive reported in 2007 that there was approximately 53 million Muslims in Europe accounting for roughly 7.2 percent of the total population. [1] There is considerable variation among Western European states, but Islamic populations have become increasingly prominent forces in all of those societies. This huge and growing demographic, however, is only a fairly recent phenomenon, and everyone should strive to understand the exponential growth of Islamic populations in this part of the world and its possible effects upon the European civilization that shaped our world order.

There are two broad reasons for the emergence of large new Islamic populations in Europe. The first is related to the attitudes of native Europeans themselves, and the second is the result of political policy advocated and enforced by world leaders. Combined, these two factors have produced the effect of an exploding new religious minority in Europe.

Native European populations has been declining for decades. Fertility rates have been dropping for years with little hope of a rebound. There is not a single country in Western Europe that currently enjoys a replacement level fertility rate, and in countries like Germany, Andorra, and Austria the number of children born to the average women has fallen below 1.5. [2] Even these startling statistics, however, do not fully represent the dismal state of fertility among native populations because they include immigrants who have considerably more children. This inability to replace themselves has caused native European numbers to decline while the mostly Islamic immigrant populations have grown exponentially. In 2007, the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics released findings that women in certain UK Islamic immigrant populations had birth rates that were three times higher than native British women, [3] and this trend has been observed across Western Europe. This double edged fertility sword, low native births coupled with high immigrant births, is partially to blame for the rising percentages of those who identify as Islamic.

Sub-replacement fertility rates among Western Europeans is the result of a confluence of factors related to social, religious, and economic attitudes and restrictions. Among the most prominent of these reasons has been the breakdown of the marriage institution. A study on European marriage conducted from 1975 to 1997 showed a marked increase in childbearing and cohabitation outside marriage. In 1975, the percentage of children born out of wedlock in the UK was around 9.5 percent, in 1985 the number had increased to 19 percent, and by 1997 the number was around 37 percent. The numbers in Denmark were 22 percent in 1975, 43 percent in 1985, and 46 percent in 1997. Currently, as of 2010, roughly 50 percent are born out of wedlock in the UK, [4] and the number in Denmark is an astounding 60 percent. [5] The rate in several other Western European countries are even higher. It can be concluded from these numbers that marriage has declined substantially in the last decades. It should be assumed that the marriage collapse has led Europeans to become more cautious about having children without a committed spouse to help raise them. Traditional family structure decline is probably partially to blame for low fertility as it leads to the decline in appropriate, safe, committed environments in which to raise children. 

Related to marriage declines is the relatively new realization among native Europeans that there is no financial or social incentive to have children. European families have traditionally thought of children as assets. They once served as part of the agricultural or manufacturing work force, and they helped provide for the family. Children were later expected to care for their aging parents. These old incentives for children, however, are no longer relevant. There are now child labor laws forbidding children to work or contribute to family finances, and the elderly are now provided for by government financed social security and health care. Children in contemporary Europe have become more of a liability than an asset. They have become a stressful financial and psychological drain on their parents. It is no surprise Europeans have forgone reproducing themselves in a society that has turned children into an unnecessary liability.

Islamic populations are growing as a percentage of national populations in part because Europeans are not having enough children to maintain the demographic status quo, but there is also the added issue of immigration and public policy. Immigration into Europe is the primary cause of Islamic growth in Western nations. In the Netherlands, for example, over 10 percent of the population consists of first generation immigrants, and most of these adhere to the Islamic religion. [6] This is an astounding number, and it points to an extraordinary recent shift in national immigration policy.

The mass migration of diverse ethnic groups into Western Europe began after World War II in the form of guest worker programs. The need for labor to accelerate the post war rebuilding effort necessitated migrant labor in the minds of many policy makers. The first guest workers into Germany and Switzerland were primarily from Italy and Eastern Europe, but eventually they were coming from Islamic regions. These guests were originally meant to be temporary workers who would be sent back as soon as the next recession arrived, but three decades of unmitigated economic growth saw many of the workers staying permanently and bringing their families into their states of residency. [7] Today, many similar policies have continued to expand the amount of Islamic migration into various countries due to a perceived need for a larger work force to compensate for low native European fertility.

Social unrest has influenced various Islamic populations to leave their native lands and accept European government offers to work abroad. Many of the largest immigrant groups arriving in Europe come from politically and economically unstable countries. Many of them hale from Iraq, Somalia, and Northern Africa (all having experienced substantial turmoil). With the genocide and war in Iraq, civil war in Somalia, and dictatorial tyranny across the Islamic world it is not surprising many of the Islamic peoples of those regions are willing to abandon their homes and move to the greener economic and social pastures of Europe. Middle Eastern populations will continue to find ways to enter Europe as long as their own countries remain mired in chaos. Huge numbers of illegal immigrants have flooded into Europe in violation of immigration laws, and, like those in the United States, they have been residing without legal status for decades while raising families and increasing their numbers. The effects of the Schengen Treaty have further worsened the problem by allowing Muslim aliens to travel throughout Europe once they have crossed the fairly porous borders of Greece or Southern Europe. The London School of Economics estimated in March of 2009 that there were around 518,000 illegal immigrants in London alone  (a difficult place to reach within the European Union). [8] If such a large number managed to reach the most distant part of the Union then how many more are likely residing in regions closer to the borders?

This massive Islamic intrusion is having a profound impact on European civilization. There are numerous ways in which this new rising group is effecting Europe, and growing numbers of people are seeing this impact as profoundly negative. In a 2010 Norwegian government sponsored public opinion survey it was revealed that more than half of Norwegians believed their government should immediately end all immigration into the country, and around the same number did not want their children attending schools with a high share of immigrant children. [9] The same survey found that over half the population opposed allowing women to wear the hijab head covering on the job, and 40 percent opposed allowing them to wear it anywhere. Similar sentiments can be found in almost all Western European nations. Former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt wrote in his biography that he regretted allowing Islamic immigration because it had become clear to him that Christian and Muslims could not live together harmoniously. [10] 

Why has there been a backlash against Islamic populations across Europe? Among the most immediate impacts of Islamic growth has been a surge in crime rates. This phenomenon has been documented across Western Europe. Oslo, Norway has often been a showcase for the problems Islamic immigrants have brought with them. The population of Oslo is estimated to be 27 percent immigrant. [11] On September 2, 2009 the Norwegian Radio reported that the police had investigated 41 cases of "aggravated sexual assault which resulted in rape." The station later reported that every single one of the 41 cases involved non-Western immigrant offenders. [12] Oslo is a single city, but many of the problems it has experienced have plagued the entire nation of Sweden. Lawyer Ann Christine Hjelm, who has investigated crimes in Svea high court, discovered that 85 percent of convicted rapists in Sweden are born on foreign soil or have foreign born parents. [13] The rates of rape among Middle Eastern immigrants across Western Europe are so high that it is impossible to view what’s happening in Oslo and Sweden as isolated cases, and rape is only one part of the trend. In a 1985 study, it was found that 40 percent of all robberies in Sweden were carried out by immigrants and their children despite those groups making up only 17.6 percent of the population. [14] These numbers have certainly climbed in the last quarter century. 

In addition to rising crime rates the Islamic population has presented a challenge to social stability in the various European societies that have taken them in. They have succeeded in disrupting European society chiefly by two methods, and the first of these is organized terrorism. There have been several high-profile attacks in Europe over the last few years. In 1985, a Syrian man known to be an Al-Qaida operative detonated a bomb outside a restaurant in Madrid that killed 20 people. [15] In 1995, there were several attacks in France by members of the terrorist organization Armed Islamic Group which killed eight people and injured over 100. [16] In 2004, there was a series of coordinated train bombings carried out by an Al-Qaida inspired cell in Madrid that killed 191 people and injured around 2,000 more. [17] In 2005, there were a series of suicide bombings in London carried out on public transportation in which 56 people were killed and 700 injured. Besides these larger well covered events, there have been a plethora of smaller incidents. One such example happened in March of 2011 when two American soldiers in Frankfurt were gunned down by a Muslim extremist at the airport. [18]

The second way Islamic populations have disrupted the unity and tranquility of their host nations is through rioting. Riots have become more regular and normalized over the last few decades, and they are increasingly recognizable as distinctly Islamic events. Last year in Sweden, there was a riot in which Islamic youth burned several vehicles, a police station, and a local school mentor facility. [19] Paris also experienced Muslim rioters burning stores, vehicles, and tramways. These individuals threw Molotov cocktails and stones at police in a four day street battle that began after a French police unit was forced to shoot and kill a Muslim burglar who opened fire on them while trying to escape. [20] These two incidents were so minor and routine, however, that the media hardly covered them. In 2008, there were riots in Malmo, Sweden that were so bad the police were forced to retreat from an entire metropolitan area and leave the Islamic rioters to burn and destroy. [21] The riots were quickly popularized on YouTube where the carnage was broadcast across the world. Probably the most famous Muslim riot, however, took place in 2005. These riots started in Paris after an apparent robbery by Muslim youths before spreading to all fifteen of France's largest urban areas. By the time the riots ended, approximately 281 million dollars in damage had been done, almost 9,000 vehicles had been damaged (many torched), 2,888 arrests had been made, several people had been killed, and 126 police and firefighters had been injured. The incident was so bad that several French media sources chose not to report the extent of the damage in order to avoid enraging the native French population. [22] These are just a few examples of civil unrest that have been caused by Muslim populations. Countless other examples could be found across the UK and other nations. Reoccurring riots are probably the most destructive ways in which Islamic populations have damaged European society.

To the dismay of politicians who thought bringing large numbers of immigrants into their countries would benefit their nations economically, the opposite has proven true. Sweden has some of the highest tax rates in the world because it runs a formerly successful welfare state. The Swedish government distributes wealth amongst its population, and even the unemployed receive pay checks like everyone else. This system has worked in the past because of the industrious and cooperative nature of the Swedish people, however, the new Islamic immigrants have proven themselves incapable of maintaining it. Self-identified followers of Islam have unemployment rates four to ten times higher than native Swedes. [23] With so many unemployed people in this one demographic, the native Swedes are being forced to pay for the livelihoods of those who were brought into their country to help them. It is estimated that immigration costs the Swedish government 40 to 50 billion Kroner every year. Some estimates suggest that as much as 17 percent of Swedish taxes go to paying for immigration related expenses. [24] A recent study in Norway, conducted by Tyra Ekhaugen of the Frisch Centre for Economic Research, found that "non-Western immigrants assimilate rapidly into welfare." [25] Immigrants apply for and receive welfare almost as soon as they reach Norway, and they quickly become dependent on the "nanny state" to provide for them. The same study said that 60 percent of the non-Western immigrants arriving in Norway were still reliant on welfare five years after having entered the country. Similar research is harder to come by in other Western European states, but it is safe to assume that they too are experiencing similar trends.

If current trends are allowed to continue in Europe the continent will be facing several catastrophic changes. Some projections have found that if the status quo remains unchanged then France could experience a Islamic majority within 25 years. [25] Both Sweden and the Netherlands would have Islamic majorities by the end of the century even if one counts only the first and second generations. This kind of drastic demographic change would end Europe as we have known it.

However, Europe is unlikely to remain asleep while these trends accelerate. There are signs that citizens and politicians are awakening to the destructive reality they have allowed to materialize around them. All Western European countries now have significant anti-immigration parties, and many of these have gained the support of a high percentage of citizens. The political elite and high minded ideologues have been preaching the doctrine of multiculturalism in support of Europe's changing demographics, but the average European has little desire to see their people displaced by Islamic immigrants and their great continent come to ruin. As Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom, said during a speech in Rome: "Ordinary people… do not consider the decline of societal cohesion, the rise of crime, the transformation of their old neighborhoods into no-go zones to be 'enrichment.'" In his 1899 book, 'The River War,' Winston Churchill warned the world that Islam was a threat to Europe's future: "Mohammedanism… is a militant and proselytizing faith. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world… The civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome." The threat is real. The only question is whether Europeans will rise to action or not. 

 

NOTES 

[1] "In Europa leben gegen¬wärtig knapp 53 Millionen Muslime," Islam.de, May 2007. http://islam.de/8368.php; Internet. Accessed on March 30th 2011.

[2] Central Intelligence Agency, World Fact Book. 2007. Available by https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html; internet. Accessed March 28th 2011. 

[3] Ben Leapmen, "Britain's Highest Birth Rates Amongst Migrants," The Telegraphy, December 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1571969/Britains-highest-birth-rates-among-migrants.html; Internet. Accessed March 28th 2011

[4] Jaimi McGinnis, "Up to 75% of Births to be Outside of Marriage," The Times. April 18th 2010. http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/within/turabian.html; Internet. Accessed March 28th 2011.

[5] Stanley Kurtz, "The End of Marriage in Scandinavia," Catholic Education Resource Center, February 2004. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0079.html; Internet. Accessed March 28th 2011.

[6] United Nations, "International Migrations 2006," United Nations Department of Social Affairs. 2006. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/2006Migration_Chart/2006IttMig_chart.htm. Internet; accessed March 28th 2011.

[7] Mark J. Miller, "Muslim Immigration to Europe," The Minaret. October 2005. http://www.udel.edu/poscir/faculty/MMiller/MuslimImmigrationtoEurope(Minaret)-1.htm; Internet. Accessed March 28th 2011

[8] "What is the Problems," Migration Watch UK, 2009. http://www.migrationwatchuk.com/outlineProblem.php; Internet. Accessed March 28th 2011.

[9] Line Brustad, "Mener integreringen er mislykket," Norsk Politikk. May 2010. http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=10007789; Internet. Accessed March 29th 2011. 

[10] Jytte Klausen, "Counterterrorism and the Integration of Islam in Europe," Foreign Policy Research Institute. July 2006. http://www.fpri.org/ww/0701.200607.klausen.integrationislameurope.html; Internet. Accessed March 30th 2011.

[11] Statiskisk Sentralbyra. January 2009. http://www.ssb.no/innvbef/tab-2010-04-29-01.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[12] Rolleiv Solholm, "Immigrants Behind Most Cases of Aggravated Sexual Assult," The Norway Post. April 2009. http://www.norwaypost.no/news/immigrants-behind-most-cases-of-aggravated-sexual-assault.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[13] Ann-Chrisine Hjelm. "Young abused women's part in the Swedish legal system," Reuna.  April 2005. http://blogit.helsinki.fi/reuna/post89.htm; Internet. Accessed March 29th 2011.

[14] Keith Hiatt, "Immigrant Danger? Immigration and Increased Crime In Europe," Institute on Labor and Employment.  March 2007. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gt4s8w0; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011

[15] "Al-Qaeda Suspect Linked to 1985 Madrid Bombing," Expatica.com. November 2005. http://www.expatica.com/es/news/local_news/al-qaeda-suspect-linked-to-1985-madrid-bombing-25187.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[16] Rachid Ramda, "juge pour l'ultime process des attentats de 1995," Liberation, October 2007. http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/reuters/reuters_france/281817.FR.php; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[17] "Madrid Train Attacks," BBC News, February 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/europe/2004/madrid_train_attacks/; Internet. Accessed March 29th 2011.

[18] "Two US Troops Die in Frankfort Shooting." UPI. March 2011. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/03/03/Two-US-troops-die-in-Frankfurt-shooting/UPI-13231299160307/; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[19] Pamela Geller, "Muslim Riots in Sweden: "It's Raining Stones" PM Reinfeld "extremely serious situation" "an attack on both the society as a whole and on the residents in the area," Atlas Shrugs. June 2010. http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/06/muslims-riots-in-sweden-its-raning-stones-pm-reinfeld-extremely-serious-situation-an-attack-on-both-.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[20] "More Muslim Riots in France," Pajamas Media, July 2010. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/more-muslim-riots-in-france/; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[21] "Muslim Riots in Malmo, Sweden," LiveLeak. December 2008. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=625_1229650209; Internet. Accessed March 29th 2011.

[22] Jonathan Lawrence, "Understanding Urban Riots in France," Brookings. March 2011. http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2005/1201france_laurence.aspx; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[23] Robert Fjordman, "What Does Muslim Immigration Cost Europe," Jihad Watch. June 2006. http://www.jihadwatch.org/2006/06/fjordman-what-does-muslim-immigration-cost-europe.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.

[24] Fjordman

[25] Tyra Ekhaugen, "Immigrants on Welfare: Assimilation and Benefit Substitution," Frisch Centre. 2005. http://www.frisch.uio.no/sammendrag/473_eng.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011. 

[26] Barbara Amiel, "Is France on Its Way to Becoming an Islamic State," The Telegraph. January 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3601901/Is-France-on-the-way-to-becoming-an-Islamic-state.html; Internet. Accessed March 30, 2011.