Vernuccio’s View: Migrants Put Europe on the Brink

Members of the British Muslim Forum and religious leaders from Christian and Jewish faiths pay their respects at the Manchester Arena. (Washington Times)

Members of the British Muslim Forum and religious leaders from Christian and Jewish faiths pay their respects at the Manchester Arena. (Washington Times)

by Frank V. Vernuccio, Esq. 

The attack in Manchester against the most innocent of targets, a concert attended predominately by teenage girls was perpetrated by a British-born son of Libyan immigrants.  The vicious act highlights the growing danger to Europe of a migrant population that has chosen not to assimilate.

There have been 17 significant terrorist attacks in Europe since 2004, but that is just half the problem. The extraordinary increase in crime, sexual assaults in particular, is changing the very character of the continent.

The proclivity for violent crime can be partially explained by a vital age and gender demographic.  As a Pew Global  report points out, 42% of all those who have recently sought asylum in Europe are young adult males. 1.3 million Muslims entered Europe in 2015 alone, approximately half from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Pew notes “men made up nearly three-fourths (73%) of Europe’s asylum seekers in 2015. Refugees from leading origin countries such as Syria (71%), Iraq (75%) and Afghanistan (80%) were also predominately male in 2015. By contrast, asylum seekers from other top origin countries, such as Gambia (97% male), Pakistan (95% male) and Bangladesh (95% male), were almost entirely male…This was also true for most leading origin countries: 39% of those from Syria were young men, as were 38% of those from Afghanistan and 47% of those from Iraq. Young adult males made up a larger share of asylum seekers from some origin countries. For example, roughly three-fourths of asylum seekers from Gambia (80%), Pakistan (76%) and Bangladesh (76%) were young adult men in 2015.”

Federalist  study of crime in Sweden demonstrates the result in that nation:

“In 1975, the Swedish parliament unanimously decided to change the former homogeneous Sweden into a multicultural country. Forty years later the dramatic consequences of this experiment emerge: violent crime has increased by 300%. If one looks at the number of rapes, however, the increase is even worse. In 1975, 421 rapes were reported to the police; in 2014, it was 6,620. That is an increase of 1,472%.”

While the leadership of European nations, particularly in Germany, seem unconcerned about the detrimental effects of alienated refugees and migrants, the general population is clearly worried. A Chatham House  survey gave respondents the following statement: ‘All further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped’. They were then asked to what extent did they agree or disagree with this statement. Overall, across all 10 of the European countries an average of 55% agreed that all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped, 25% neither agreed nor disagreed and 20% disagreed. Majorities in all but two of the ten states agreed, ranging from 71% in Poland, 65% in Austria, 53% in Germany and 51% in Italy to 47% in the United Kingdom and 41% in Spain. In no country did the percentage that disagreed surpass 32%.

The Council on Foreign Relations notes that “Despite signs that Muslims are beginning to succeed in business and academia in countries such as France and Germany, many analysts say most of Western Europe’s Muslims are poorly integrated into society. They cite closed ethnic neighborhoods, high crime rates in Muslim communities, calls for use of sharia law in Europe, the wearing of the veil, and other examples as evidence of a conflict with European values…Oxford University scholar Tariq Ramadan wrote in the Christian Science Monitor: ‘Over the last two decades Islam has become connected to so many controversial debates … it is difficult for ordinary citizens to embrace this new Muslim presence as a positive factor.’ Fears over a possible major demographic shift toward Islam as well as ongoing Muslim assimilation problems highlight the continuing divide between Europe and its Muslim population.”

Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr., J.D.

Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr., J.D.

Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr., J.D. is the editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government and the co-host of the popular WVOX weekly radio show, “And Nothing But The Truth.”

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