The Netherlands experienced a shift in political ideology during the 20th century under the influence of Pim Fortuyn. A Dutch politician, sociologist, and civil servant, Fortuyn developed his own political party which he coined the Pim Fortuyn List. Though widely appraised, Fortuyn provoked controversy with his outspoken views addressing immigration, multiculturalism, and Islam in the Netherlands. An openly homosexual scholar, Fortuyn scored Islam as a “backward culture”, seeking to cut the number of Muslims immigrating to the Netherlands. As he gained voters’ appeal, he continued to objectify Islam, noting that Islam militated against Dutch liberal traditions. Ironically, he himself advocated for prostitution, legalized drugs, and gay rights: the hallmarks of Holland’s permissive society. In order to determine the impact Fortuyinism had against the Dutch political platform and whether interreligious coexistence is possible at all, it is necessary to understand Pim Fortuyn’s motive for expressing his views against Muslim immigration that emphasized his ideologies to address secularism, liberalism, direct democracy, and …show more content…
The debate focuses on whether the Netherlands is, in fact, a model of successful integration. The discussion questions whether the past emphasis of the Dutch on tolerance has served to overlook a number of real and dire social issues. Both in the Dutch parliament and media, a proposal was made for a more “honest” exposure of the problems that emerged from the coexistence between migrant communities and native populations. The Dutch held that the time had come to break taboos and to end political correctness. Pim Fortuyn is one of the first politicians to make these views politically acceptable within the Dutch
In Amin Ahmad’s I belong here, the reader is faced with a sense of sympathy that makes the reader’s view of the world, not only questionable, but alterable. This personal experience, written in the year 2010 shames the fact that this world has and shows how little progress the world has made in the judgment and discrimination of immigrants. These people look differently, speak differently, and live differently; but on the inside they are the same. Nonetheless, they are looked down upon by people from different cultures. The author uses his personal ethos and pathos to support the claim of value that immigrants are not treated fairly. A claim of value is a claim that is based off of what is right and what is wrong.
The mention of the abolition of multiculturalism for a “new” post-multiculturalist approach becomes difficult to understand. It claims, “to avoid the ‘excesses’ of multiculturalism” (47), however where does this notable governmental and social switch take place? How is the term coined, and how is it understood in theory versus in practice? How is it different from its predecessor? Even the classification of history struggles to define what is considered to be modern, let alone post-modern, and yet the term suggests a positive approach to alleviating difficult assimilation projects similar to those faced elsewhere (47). This notion may developed on the grounds of “someone else’s problems” ¬– in regards to its Canadian context – as a means to label, or justify, miscellaneous aspects of multiculturalism. However, with the government-wide commitment to policies and programs, in conjunction with social understanding, it naturally becomes subject to a wide array of differing opinions. As both immigration and citizenship policies change, its public reception often shifts as well. Especially since the channels referred to within the ‘multiculturalism...
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
A common opinion of the people of Sweden is that America is country controlled by a group of Christian fanatics. I wish to showcase that Americans different views on religion in comparison to Europeans are mainly due to historical reasons and that its diverse religious views does not necessarily affect their political views. A common misconception is for example that both abortion and homosexuality is illegal and generally opposed by a majority of the American public due to religious reasons, I believe that this is simply not true and wish to bring forth evidence for this.
In the United States, the cliché of a nation of immigrants is often invoked. Indeed, very few Americans can trace their ancestry to what is now the United States, and the origins of its immigrants have changed many times in American history. Despite the identity of an immigrant nation, changes in the origins of immigrants have often been met with resistance. What began with white, western European settlers fleeing religious persecution morphed into a multicultural nation as immigrants from countries across the globe came to the U.S. in increasing numbers. Like the colonial immigrants before them, these new immigrants sailed to the Americas to gain freedom, flee poverty and famine, and make a better life for themselves. Forgetting their origins as persecuted and excluded people, the older and more established immigrants became possessive about their country and tried to exclude and persecute the immigrant groups from non-western European backgrounds arriving in the U.S. This hostile, defensive, and xenophobic reaction to influxes of “new” immigrants known as Nativism was not far out of the mainstream. Nativism became a part of the American cultural and political landscape and helped to shape, through exclusion, the face of the United States for years to come.
In conclusion, Canada has come a long way in promoting the integration of immigrants socially. The country is making progress integrating immigrants economically, and much needs to be done before the same can be said politically. What is certain, is that the immigrant’s path of integration may be a slow process, and the Canadian government has been slow to propel it… but the future looks bright, and Canada is on the right track.
Sweden is largest country out of the three Scandinavian countries with a population of well over nine million. Sweden has for a long time been recognized by Europe, and the entire world, for having warm and inviting borders and excellent integration policies for immigrants, especially when it comes to its neighboring Scandinavian countries. Sweden’s open immigration policy today makes it one of the mot diverse nations on the planet. However in recent times due to an influx of asylum seekers, Sweden is in a position where the country may have to clamp down of some policies that it was once praised for to keep the balance.
Without a doubt, the European continent has been through a lot over the last few decades. From World War 2, to the iron grip of Soviet Russia on half of the continent, many problems have arisen and been dealt with. Unfortunately, Europe has had a rough few years when it comes to the somewhat newer issue of immigration and immigrant groups. While some countries have managed immigration better than others, nations such as France and Italy have had their fair share of problems and continue to pass legislation that is flawed and draws criticism from other countries. The issue has gotten better in recent years, and various European countries have made great progress towards their immigration policies. In addition, various ethnic groups have been the target of government profiling and discrimination. Most notably the Romani people, who have faced discrimination for hundreds of years and continue to do so at the hands of various Eastern and Western European governments. The many setbacks and gains towards immigration are more clearly visible when looked at on a case-by-case basis, such as the individual policies of Italy, France, and the European Union as a whole.
Burns, Thomas J. "Islam." Religion and Society. OU Campus' Dale Hall, Norman. 14 Apr. 2014. Lecture.
About two years ago I read Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s memoir “Infidel” and was immensely moved by her story, especially the atrocities she went through in her childhood in Africa and the way she struggled to flee from an oppressive life. At that time, I could not imagine that anyone (except fanatic Muslims), let alone victims of the same oppression that she was, would not share her feelings and views. However, the reading of Ian Buruma’s Murder in Amsterdam sheds light on bigger and obscure components of this story, which clearly influenced some people to disapprove her behavior – even Islamic women. Like in Hirsi Ali’s story, Ian Buruma also identifies nuances in the main episode of the book – an episode that at face value could be described as a murder of a fierce critic of Islam, Theo van Gogh (Hirsi Ali’s friend), by a Muslim extremist, Mohammed Bouyeri. According to Buruma, although the common theme is immigration – involving two guests, Hirsi Ali and Bouyeri, and one host, Van Gogh – there is no single explanation for what happened. Instead, each of these three characters, he explains, was influenced by a blend of personal experiences and external forces. It was thus the clash between their diverse cultural values and personal identities that ended up leading to the tragic morning of November 2nd, 2004, the day of Van Gogh’s murder.
...itism and attempting to appeal to ultra-nationalist sensibilities there is a definite racist element to their discourse. Such racism is evident in the National Front’s stance against immigration where they argue that Arab Islamic immigrants are unlikely to assimilate on the basis of the alien nature of their culture and in the idea that immigration should be banned and the rights of French citizens be made a national priority. Whilst attempts have been made to make this stance appear more moderate and in line with popular discourse in recent years, such as by aligning anti-immigration with cultural incompatibility these arguments simply attempt to mask the true nature of the National Front’s policies. Despite attempts to focus on other elements of party policy it is clear that underneath the rhetoric of Marine Le Pen the National Front is inherently a racist party.
Robinson B.A. 1 Mar 2000 (last update), Islam, Hp. Online. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Available:
Banting noted that some Canadians fear multiculturalism will bring, “…challenges to historic cultures, anxieties about Islam, and fears about insecurity,” (797). As people migrate from one cultural or religious backgrounds, maintaining the identity of the host country becomes difficult. Young children born interact with the immigrants and they could easily emulate foreign cultures thereby putting the historic cultural identity of Canadians at risk of erosion. Winter Elke warned that multiculturalism is changing to give too much preference to the immigrants thereby risking it to become a minority affair (638). Therefore, the relationship between national the majority of Canadians and immigrants need rethinking. Erosion of other cultures as immigrants introduce new ways or adapt to the cultures of the host county (Canada). Furthermore, education of the immigrants could face challenges if they experience difficulty settling in Canada. Given that immigrants later work in Canada, the human resource sector faces a new challenge of managing a diversified workforce, which can create headache for Canadian employers. Banting indicated that there is, “a strong sense that multiculturalism policies have “failed” a reaction that is strongest perhaps in the Netherlands, but is felt in many other countries as well,” (797). Such assertions only fuel resentment towards
It would be nice to allow people to adhere to their own styles, but doing that excludes them from the already existing nation’s practices. On the other hand, requiring immigrants to completely conform to society, will result in taking away all of their beliefs. According to Malik, “‘multicultural’ has come to define both a society that is particularly diverse, usually as a result of immigration, and the policies necessary to manage such a society” (22). With the immigration that European nations have faced, there is undoubtedly diverse culture present, but the policy aspect of that multicultural definition still needs to be redefined in order to create a balance between diversity and inclusion within
The issue of immigrants’ rights versus preserving dominant cultural traits in a society has only become more pressing as globalization has increased. This increased globalization has caused mass migration from certain areas of the world, often afflicted with famine, strive and poverty, to the West. As nations tackle these pressing issues and attempt to deal with their new residents, certain questions have to be answered. Are all cultures equal? Do nations have a right to assert the dominance of their culture over those brought in from the outside? Or, rather, do individuals have the right to legally move between nations while preserving their cultural ties...