Riots in Malmo

On Wednesday and Thursday nights of this week, young Muslim youths rioted in the Rosengaard section of Malmo, which is heavily inhabited by working-class immigrants. What is the reason? It seems that the local Islamic Center had to relocate because their lease had expired and the owner wanted the building for other purposes. The Center handed over keys and moved out with no problem. Then, however, on November 24, Muslim youths took over the premises as "squatters". This week, they were forcibly removed by the police, and the riots ensued. On Wednesday and Thursday nights, fires were set, cars burned and police hit with projectiles. Older Muslim community leaders have condemned the events and are attempting to work with authorities. The past two days have been calm, and the police claim to be in control.

This is not the first incident of Muslim unrest in Malmo. There was a similar riot in April of 2007 in the same Rosengaard section of Malmo. It is part of a trend that has been going on for years. It is estimated that the city will be majority Muslim in about ten years. As they wait for that magic day to arrive, young Muslims have made the city unsafe for Swedes-who are leaving in droves. Non-Muslim youths are commonly attacked by gangs of Muslim youths, and cemeteries are defaced. Christian crosses are a favorite target.

Also, in Malmo, a certain Khalid al-Yousef of the Sweden-based Al-Aqsa Spannmal Foundation has been charged with aiding and abetting terrorism in Israel.

Malmo clearly has a serious problem on its hands with an unassimilated immigrant minority that apparently has no desire to assimilate and accept Western values. The problem is similar in many Western European nations. It is obvious that the Europeans simply don't know what to do about this problem. While I sympathize with their plight, I am reminded of how, a few decades ago, European nations like Sweden were condemning the US for our treatment of minorities. In those days, they didn't have that many immigrants, but the problem was beginning as European countries were bringing in more and more working-class immigrants from poorer countries-in many cases- Muslim countries-to do work the Europeans were not willing to do.

Somewhere along the way, the idea of assimilation was forgotten about. Now, with the awakening of militant Islam, assimilation is probably now a hopeless idea.