Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard puts forward a logical argument, but unfortunately it is a false one. Second and third generation Muslim immigrants do not need the heavy hand of the state to alienate them from Western society; they already have their religion, their holy book, and their prophet to do that for them. The heavy hand of the state is not the cause of the alienation; rather, it is the result of it. Therein lies a big difference. - ©Mark
AKI: Brussels - Second and third generation Muslim immigrants in Europe risk serious alienation from the societies in which they live, France's Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard told a conference in Brussels on Tuesday. The youngsters suffer "a lack of success at school, unemployment, the feeling of not truly belonging or having a stake in the future," said Ricard, whose diocese covers the southwestern French city of Bordeaux.
Ricard argued that Islam may appear to offer young Muslims an identity and pride that their societies do not. He said the anger and violence they feel towards what they perceive as an unjust 'police state' (photo) can drive them into the arms of extremists.
"They risk being attracted by most conservative and anti-Western strands (of Islam), and Muslim communities can be tempted to form an anti-society," he said.
This can lead to "a radical rejection" of the West by Muslims and the resulting rejection of Muslims by non-Muslims in Europe, Ricard warned. >>> AKI | October 21, 2008
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