DENMARK: TROUBLE

Susan MacAllen is a contributing editor for (FamilySecurityMatters.org)
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.

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
Canada: 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 threatened 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 occupying
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 anymore 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,' Hvilshoj 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 freedom 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 country where such murderous
violence was once so scarce.

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, Canadians 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 Canada look at the enclaves of Muslims 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..

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