Thursday, February 22, 2007

Muslim Integration

For those who are interested in hearing about what we, the French and the U.S. did to the people of Haiti, here's the story as told by the president whom we were responsible for kidnapping and exiling.

ZMag interview with Aristide

On to other matters.

Multiculturalism is all the rage these days.

We have people who would ban Muslims from immigrating to Canada because they don't seem to want to "blend in" or because they want to take over our culture.

The argument seems to have some logical support. Look at those halal butcheries. Look at the women in the chadors and hijabs. Look at that weird praying thing they do five times a day. They're weird! They're crazy! Get them out of our country now, before it's too late! Force them to conform! Don't let them change our country! They want to make us all in to muslims!

Alright. Take a deep breath.

Let's look at this rationally. The Muslims show up in our country, mostly educated and prepared to work. They have some unexpected beliefs that don't line up with "our" Christian ones. They don't seem to speak English very well. All of these things are true.

Ultimately, however, I also believe that all of these things are temporary. You know how I can tell?

My grandparents arrived in Canada after WWII. My maternal grandmother spoke Slovak and only halting English. My mother speaks only English. I barely know a word of Slovak. My paternal grandfather, already saddled with four or five languages, never really caught on to English. His wife still has a better mastery of German (German! Egads, the enemy! Send her home!) than of English. Her sons spoke only dialect German. Of her seven grandchildren, only one of them can make sentences in German. Of the ten great-grandchildren, how many will know any German?

What I'm saying is that it's only a matter of time. New immigrants, finding themselves in an unfamiliar place, will stick together by their cultural background. My hometown had a German club, a Slovak Hall, a Croatian Home as well as Halls for Italians, Poles and you name it. Muslims are doing the same thing, but a generation later. Their children will grow up with ours, as our parents grew up with each other, and will add their diversity to our culture.

Muslims are no more likely to destroy Canadian culture than Germans and Italians were two generations ago.

Right now, I have no doubt that there are Muslims in this country who want to turn our country in to a place of Islamic and sharia law. For all I know, there might even be a large number of such people. But their children, like all children, think their parents are nuts. Their children will wear blue jeans, watch CBC, listen to infidel music, and become a part of our society.

Will they change our society? Of course they will. Every person who arrives from anywhere in the world will change our country. I'm not afraid of change, though, nor of absurd things like half-breed children and race-mixing. The only way to achieve stasis is through death, and I'm just not that dedicated to the notion, thank you.

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