Western Europe Fights Islamization

AN ARTICLE by Ryan Mauro, which listed European efforts to stop the encroachment of Sharia, and listed them all in one article, one after another, was like an inspiring tour de force. Check it out:

France took the first step in trying to stop the spread of Islam by banning any religious symbols from being worn in public schools, which included the headscarves worn by many Muslim women. This caused outrage in the Muslim world, and President Obama criticized it during his address in Cairo. Then in November, the Swiss voted in favor of banning the construction of minarets on mosques. This has sparked major movements on the continent to take further measures that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

One by one, the countries of Europe are placing restrictions on wearing the burqas and niqabs in government buildings or even in public. In April, Belgium became the first of them to pass an all-encompassing ban, and the French Council of Ministers followed by passing a similar ban that the National Assembly has just approved. It is expected to pass the Senate in September and then be signed by President Sarkozy.

Now, the Senate in Spain has passed a motion calling on the government to completely ban the wearing of the veil in public, and several municipalities in Spain have also placed restrictions on the burqa, although the parliament of Catalonia has switched its initial vote in favor of a ban. The Senate’s motion went further than what the ruling Socialist government wanted, which only sought to stop the veils from being worn in public buildings. There are growing movements with varying success in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Italy for placing restrictions on the face veils. A battle over Sharia courts should be expected in the coming years, which Norway is taking the lead on. The Foreign Minister, who is the head of a panel on integration, has just expressed his opposition to them, saying “desegregation is our society’s biggest social challenge.”

Political parties that express a hard line on assimilation and Islam are gaining in the polls. A new Poll poll found that bans on the face veils are supported by a strong majority of Western Europeans. Eighty-two percent of the French, 71 percent of the Germans, 62 percent of the British and 59 percent of the Spanish are in favor of such a law.

The Freedom Party of Geert Wilders came in third in last month’s general elections in the Netherlands, expanding their number of seats from nine to 24. Wilders rightfully said that his party was “the biggest winner today.”

Read the whole article (which is fully referenced): Europe's Backlash Against Islamization.

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