Sweden: Immigrants cleaning the streets

Sweden: Immigrants cleaning the streets


Immigrants workers make up 41 percent of Sweden's cleaners despite accounting for only 16 percent of the workforce. In the cities the numbers are even higher, a new report shows.


In Stockholm, 80 percent of people working as office or hotel cleaners were born outside of Sweden, the new report from Statistics Sweden (SCB) for 2008 shows. In Gothenburg the equivalent figure was 59 percent and in Malmö 66 percent.


Foreign born staff account for 12 percent of all employees aged 16-64 in Sweden and make up 16 percent of the population.


While big city areas have slightly higher populations of immigrants - with 18 percent in Malmö and Stockholm, and 16 percent in Gothenburg, foreign born workers were over-represented in a series of professions such as nurses, hospital orderlies, personal assistants and child minders.


Of the ten categories of profession presented in the statistics, sales staff was the group with the lowest proportion of foreign-born workers - with only 6 percent.


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Source: The Local (English)

Austria: 54% see Islam as threat to West

Austria: 54% see Islam as threat to West

According to a recent IMAS study, 59% of Austrians are 'somewhat opposed' to building minarets.  There's a big gap between the public opinion and what is expressed.

Just over 20% of Austrians describe themselves as religious, compared to 30% 35 years ago.  The ethnic population differs clearly from the Muslim population.  54% of Austrians - slightly more men than women, older people more than younger - see Islam as a 'threat for the West'.  The respondents have a growing sense that such views can't be talked about openly.  This according to a large-scale study by the IMAS agency on the topic of 'religion and freedom', conducted for the Internationalen Instituts für Liberale Politik (International Institute for Liberal Policy) and obtained exclusive by Presse.

Only 4% would agree if a family member would marry a Muslims.  By 3% of respondents that was already the case, and in Vienna it was above average.

On the acceptance of minarets: 59% said they were 'somewhat against'.  51% thought the building of mosques and wearing a headscarf should be banned altogether. 

72% of Austrians (compared to 38% of Green party supporters) were critical of the lack of readiness to assimilate among Muslims in Austria.  "Austria is a Christian country and should remain such": said 61% of the respondents.  42% also thought that "the less foreigners, the better".  In particular, this view was held by supporters of the Freedom Party (76%), but also by 39% of SPÖ voters (Social Democrats) and 37% of ÖVP voters (People's Party).

Only the Greens bucked the trend all across the board.  Just 14% of the Greens oppose building mosques, and just over 25% says that Austria should remain a Christian country.  On the other hand, almost half of the Green voters see economic and social benefits for Austria from immigration.  This opinion was shared by 12% of all respondents, 15% of SPÖ voters, 16% of ÖVP voters and 5% of FPÖ-BZÖ voters (Freedom Party - Alliance for the Future of Austria).

Austrians see increasing pressure on opinions regarding foreigner policy.  IMAS asked whether people in Austria can really express their opinion on political, historical and cultural issues without fear.  In 2007, 14% said it's better to keep silent.  In Feb. 2010, 24% agreed with this view.  Another 20% said it depends on the issue.  IMAS researchers say there is major contradictions between the public and expressed opinion.

A large majority - 71% - think Islam is incompatible with Western notions of democracy, freedom and tolerance.  Erich Reiter of the Institute for Liberal Policy (and former section head in the department of defense), points out that also atheists see differences between Christianity and Islam.  In a Presse interview he says that from a liberal prospective Islam is seen as a threat to Austrian society, and that politicians should take this seriously and respond to it.

As for faith, 60% either believe in a Biblical God (25%) or in a 'spiritual power over us' (34%).  But Christianity is given only secondary importance in children's upbringing, followed by 'European spirit'.  The most important educational goal in Austria is to 'think and act indepenently'.

Asked for a self-evaluation: 63% said they're 'people for whom freedom and independence matter a lot', followed by 'cosmpolitian' and 'orderly'.  An interesting point: 7% see themselves as upper-class and high-earners, 4% as right-liberals and 3% as people with 'strong leftist' leanings.

Source: Die Presse (German), h/t PI

French-Turks more integrated than German/Dutch Turks

French-Turks more integrated than German/Dutch Turks


Turkish immigrants and their children in the Netherlands are less fluent in the language of the country in which they live then those in France. They also use it relatively less often. Additionally, they have less contact with ethnic Europeans. There are no significant differences between Turks in the Netherlands and in Germany.

This according to a study which will be presented Wednesday by social-scientist Evelyn Ersanilli of the VU University in Amsterdam. She studied social-cultural integration of Turks in the Netherlands, Germany and France and the link between that and the integration policy of those countries. The researcher surveyed about 1,000 Turkish immigrants, and had dozens of in-depth interviews.

Ersanilli says that Dutch Turks are less integrated than French-Turks because the Netherlands gives immigrants a lot of space to uphold their culture. Ethnic and religious minorities can get subsidies for their own schools and public broadcasters. She writes this has more of a negative effect than a positive one on the acceptance of the local culture.

Turkish Dutch do identify relatively more with the Netherlands. The same goes for French-Turks. The two groups feel more "Dutch" and "French" than German-Turks feel "German".

Source: SpitsNieuws (Dutch), h/t NRP

Ireland: President praises Islamic students' contribution

Ireland: President praises Islamic students' contribution


ISLAMIC STUDENTS make a “very positive contribution” to Irish society and its economy, according to President McAleese.


She said: “They are helping to advance the frontiers of science, medicine and research – it is their encouraging experience of Ireland that helps our higher education institutions compete for students and recognition in this globalised world.”


The President was speaking at a ceremony in Dublin to mark the ending of Islamic Awareness Week at the Royal College of Surgeons. She told her audience that “historically Ireland’s links with the world of Islam have been relatively modest.


“They have largely been forged by Muslim students from many countries who paid us the compliment of undertaking their academic and professional studies here. They have proved to be wonderful ambassadors not just for their countries, faith and culture but for Ireland for wherever they have gone in the world they have spoken well of us, opened doors to us and become voluntary advocates for Ireland.”


She said that “Ireland’s Muslim population, though still relatively small, has been augmented by inward migration and by a large international student population.


“It is important to acknowledge here the very positive contribution that Islamic students make to Irish society and to our economy.”


Mrs McAleese said “the Islamic and Muslim Student Societies are very active in colleges across the country, promoting awareness and fostering relationships across different cultures.


“That investment, which I hope is matched by a curiosity and a welcome from those who know little about Islam, is essential if we are to fully live our claim to be a place of many traditions.”


Islamic Awareness Week “plays an important part in educating our society about itself and its members. The spirit of this week is the path to understanding and I hope that as the week comes to a close more and more people will have joined the journey of mutual understanding which is so essential for the development of a tolerant, peaceful, safe and nurturing society,” she said.


Source: Irish Times, h/t Logan's Warning

Russia: Kremlin supports plan to form higher coordinating Muslim council

Russia: Kremlin supports plan to form higher coordinating Muslim council


The Kremlin's chief domestic policy advisor Alexey Grishin has put his support behind plans to set up a higher Muslim coordinating council in Russia.


"This form will help deal with the Muslim community's most important problems on the basis of consensus, make joint statements and pass mufti's fatwas (edicts), and organize effective ties with the government," Grishin told the 4th congress of Tatarstan Muslims in Kazan on Saturday.


(...)


The idea of setting up a council "with an equal representation of all Muslim boards has been backed by most of Russia's muftis and imams," Grishin said.


On the Muslim organizations' unity, he said, "our position on this issue has remained unchanged and we have always advocated unity between Russia's Muslims."


"But this process should be handled with great caution, as leaders of major Muslim organizations have said before, in order to avoid fresh conflicts and confrontation," he said.


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The head of one of Russia's leading Muslim organizations has expressed his doubts over an idea to create the post of supreme mufti to help unite the country's Muslims.


"If the Muslims do not see this person as a single, common mufti, he won't be a mufti and he won't have authority either in this country or abroad," head of Council of Muftis of Russia Ravil Gainutdin told the 4th congress of Tatarstan Muslims in Kazan on Saturday.


He also expressed doubts about setting up a higher coordinating Muslim council to be co-chaired by the heads of the three main Muslim associations: the Central Muslim Board, the Council of Muftis and the Coordinating Muslim Council of the North Caucasus. The idea was proposed about three months ago by head of the Central Muslim Board Talgat Tajuddin.


"We have tried before to set up various coordinating centers and councils. All in vain. We have gone through this and failed to become united over the past 20 years," Gainutdin said.


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Sources: Interfax 1, 2 (English)

Netherlands: Highly-educated Turks, Moroccans to vote for center-left parties

Netherlands: Highly-educated Turks, Moroccans to vote for center-left parties

In related news, the Dutch Muslim Party (NMP) announced it will participate in the parliamentary elections on June 9th. The party is participating in seven of the municipal elections this Wednesday. (NL)

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Highly-educated Moroccan and Turkish youth will vote for D66 in the local Dutch elections, followed by PvdA (Labor) and GroenLinks (Greens). Most youth think Alexander Pechtold (D66) is the most appealing politician, followed by Femke Halsema (GroenLinks).

Local parties don't attract them. "Barely 3% of the youth plan to vote for such a party," says a researcher from the Labyrinth agency in Utrecht. Labyrinth surveyed the opinion of about 200 Moroccan and Turkish youth. The great majority of them will never consider voting for PVV (Party for Freedom) and TON (Proud of the Netherlands). The SGP and ChristenUnie (both Christian parties) can also count on little support.

Half of the respondents said education was one of the most important issues. Integration and the economy will also affect their vote. Security, art and culture play almost no role.

Labyrinth conducted the study together with Stichting de Nieuwe Generatie, an association which wants to promote integration in the Netherlands.

Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)

Denmark: Politiken apologizes, everybody censors

Denmark: Politiken apologizes, everybody censors

Last Friday, Danish newspaper Politiken made a big show of apologizing for reprinting the Muhmmad cartoons and thereby offending Muslims. Politiken, btw, claim this will not prevent them from reprinting the cartoons.

The move caused a political storm. Denmark's new foreign minister, Lene Espersen, and PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen both voiced concern about the move.

In response to the apology, the Danish People's Party (DPP) posted the cartoon on their website.

Danish blogger Uriasposten posted a screen-capture of how Danish broadcaster DR reported about the DPP move:


The question being, what's worse? Politiken apologizing while reserving the right to reprint the cartoons in the future, or DR not apologizing for anything while practicing self-censorship?

It's not only DR, of course. Not one Danish newspapers who reported about this dared post the offending graphic. Jyllands-Posten was critical of Politiken for apologizing (though they apologized too.. ), but they don't dare post the Mohammad cartoon in order to illustrate their own story about it.

After the most recent attack on Mohammad cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, Danish newspapers decided not to reprint the cartoon in the context of reporting about the attack. 84% of Danes agreed with that decision.

DR meanwhile reports that the apology didn't make much of an impression on the organizations involved:

Politiken's chief editor, Tøger Seidenfaden, could only name one of the eight Muslim organizations he had apologized to, and that organization wrote nothing about it on its site, reports B.T.

The organization of Muhammad's descendants in Egypt, Niqabat al-Ashrafs, one of the largest of the oranziations, completely ingored Politiken's apology for insulting the prophet by reprinting the Muhammad cartoons.

On Friday the newspaper made the headlines when chief editor Tøger Seidenfaden sent out a press releaes in both Danish and English.

Ali Maktabi, municipal counciloor in Frederiksberg, looked up the Arab site for B.T. and though it was updated Sunday, the settlement wasn't mentioned at all.

Arabic language TV station al-Jazeera was quick to report on the apology, without mentioning that Politiken claimed the right to print the famous cartoon again.

B.T. wanted to check the sites of the other seven organizaiton for the descritpion of hte settlement, but Tøger Seidenfaden couldn't say what they were called. Still, on TV2 News he said the eight organizaitons were very respected.

Source: DR (Danish)

Stockholm: Go-ahead for new mosque

Stockholm: Go-ahead for new mosque


Local politicians are in agreement that a mosque should be built in Rinkeby, a suburb in western Stockholm.


The Muslim population in Rinkeby, an area where many immigrants have congregated, has long requested the construction of a mosque, and Stockholm has now identified a suitable location.


Representatives of six Swedish political parties published a joint editorial in Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper on Saturday in support of the new house of worship.


The six politicians hope that a mosque might stimulate the local economy and increase security in the area, pointing to the mosque built in Södermalm in the 1990s as an example of a similar success story. They also emphasize it is important for the parties to maintain a broad coalition to stand behind the mosque construction in order to combat prejudice.


“The mosque will be built on the site where the former administrative building for Rinkeby stood. During the spring, the City of Stockholm...will earmark this site as a location for the Swedish Islamic Association (Islamiska förbundet) to build a mosque. It is a positive addition to Rinkeby and to Stockholm,” they wrote in DN.


Source: The Local (English)

France: 'Day Without Immigrants'

France: 'Day Without Immigrants'


In a subversive attempt to demonstrate the importance of immigrants to the French economy, rights groups are advocating a “no work, no consumption day” on March 1. The message is being spread on the Web, but will it work?


The idea to have a ‘Day Without Immigrants’ was born in the autumn of 2009, after a controversial gaffe by then French immigration minister Brice Hortefeux.


In an aside that proved embarrassing for the ruling UMP party, Hortefeux was caught on camera telling a party member of Arabic origin that, “one of you is ok but when there are many, there’s a problem.” Hortefeux maintained that the remark was taken out of context and was meant in jest, but it was still broadly condemned across the political spectrum.


The incident sparked the idea of having a day – March 1 – dedicated to making immigrants “invisible,” as a subversive way of underlining their importance.


“Our only aim is to restore respect and dignity to immigrants,” says Nadia Lamarkbi, president of a collective of immigrant rights groups. “The idea is somewhat funny, but in reality, it’s serious. We’re simply asking people to think differently about immigration, in positive terms, to consider how much they contribute to society. We’re not going to change society, we won’t debunk the clichés surrounding immigrants, but we hope to begin a new dynamic, to change the way people regard immigrants.”


Immigrants and non-immigrants, the organizers are calling on all citizens to stop working or consuming for 24 hours. “Abandoning economic activity in businesses, organisations, public sector enterprises, schools, universities, hospitals, the service sector, the media, politics…” states the manifesto released by the collective. Rallies have been set for midday on March 1 in different cities across France.


(...)


Will this happen in France? On the Web, the message is being spread fast. At last count, a Facebook group had more than 69,000 subscribers and calls are regularly bein relayed on Twitter as well as numerous blog sites.


On the ground, about 30 local committees are relaying the call for a Day Without Immigrants. Spain, Italy and Greece have joined the movement and a German delegation plans to come to France on March 1. The collective organising the event has also received support from numerous human rights groups, immigrant rights groups as well as French trade union CFDT. Supporters who can’t stay away from work on this day, can display their solidarity by wearing a yellow ribbon.


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Source: France24 (English)

UK: Islamic radicals 'infiltrate' the Labour Party

UK: Islamic radicals 'infiltrate' the Labour Party


A Labour minister says his party has been infiltrated by a fundamentalist Muslim group that wants to create an "Islamic social and political order" in Britain.

The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) — which believes in jihad and sharia law, and wants to turn Britain and Europe into an Islamic state — has placed sympathisers in elected office and claims, correctly, to be able to achieve "mass mobilisation" of voters.


Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Jim Fitzpatrick, the Environment Minister, said the IFE had become, in effect, a secret party within Labour and other political parties.
 

"They are acting almost as an entryist organisation, placing people within the political parties, recruiting members to those political parties, trying to get individuals selected and elected so they can exercise political influence and power, whether it's at local government level or national level," he said.


"They are completely at odds with Labour's programme, with our support for secularism."


Mr Fitzpatrick, the MP for Poplar and Canning Town, said the IFE had infiltrated and "corrupted" his party in east London in the same way that the far-Left Militant Tendency did in the 1980s. Leaked Labour lists show a 110 per cent rise in party membership in one constituency in two years.


In a six-month investigation by this newspaper and Channel 4's Dispatches, involving weeks of covert filming by the programme's reporters:


    * IFE activists boasted to the undercover reporters that they had already "consolidated … a lot of influence and power" over Tower Hamlets, a London borough council with a £1 billion budget.

    * We have established that the group and its allies were awarded more than £10 million of taxpayers' money, much of it from government funds designed to "prevent violent extremism".

    * IFE leaders were recorded expressing opposition to democracy, support for sharia law or mocking black people. The IFE organised meetings with extremists, including Taliban allies, a man named by the US government as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and a man under investigation by the FBI for his links to the September 11 attacks.

    * Moderate Muslims in London told how the IFE and its allies were enforcing their hardline views on the rest of the local community, curbing behaviour they deemed "un-Islamic". The owner of a dating agency received a threatening email from an IFE activist, warning her to close it.

    * George Galloway, a London MP, admitted in recordings obtained by this newspaper that his surprise victory in the 2005 election owed more to the IFE "than it would be wise – for them – for me to say, adding that they played a "decisive role" in his triumph at the polls.


Mr Galloway now says they were one of many groups which supported his anti-war stance and had never sought to influence him.


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Source: Daily Telegraph (English), h/t NRP