Denmark and Immigration

[HanSolo]

This is an article a friend sent me the ther day. It is long but worth the read...

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 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 their long-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.

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

US : 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 threat

ened 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 occup ying 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 any more 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,' Hvilsh�j 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 f reedom 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 c ountry where such

murderous violence was once so scarce.< o:p>

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 and Illegal Hispanics 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.