.... The first problem is that the cultural gap is widening. Unlike generations of immigrants across the globe, including Muslims, who have worked to become part of the culture and fabric of welcoming nations, many of today's newly minted British Islamic fundamentalists aren't just disinterested in following the laws and cultural norms of Britain -- in many ways, they seem openly hostile to them.
It's not just that parts of England today feel as closed as Saudi Arabia or that even non-Muslim women endure angry slurs in some neighborhoods for failure to wear head-scarves. Public opinion polls reinforce that sense of "other" -- like the 2009 poll that was revealed as part of the WikiLeaks stash of U.S. diplomatic cables, which found that every third British Muslim student supported killing in Islam's name; or the 2006 poll which found that four in ten British Muslims hoped that Britain would one day adopt the draconian Sharia law.
The second problem is the increasing frequency with which extremism is hitting close to home.
[A COMMENT] Demographics are destiny. The UK has apparently decided, through its immigration policies, that it wishes to become majority Muslim during the 21st Century. In 2001, England had 1.5 million Muslims; in 2011, that number had increased to 2.7 million Muslims, or 5% of the population.
Will it be 9-10% by 2021, 18-20% by 2031...50% by 2051? What a fascinating transition it will be, when Londoners hear calls to morning prayer from minarets of St Paul's Cathedral.
Don't believe it? Neither would the Byzantines have believed such about the Hagia Sophia, until it was converted into a mosque in 1453. Allahu akbar, old chum. [TheHuffingtonPost.com] Read more
