17th December 2010
“The initial hostility of European multiculturalist countries toward the French model has turned into a renewed interest: what if the French were right? This interest in laïcité is primarily negative: it stems from the crisis (from the death, I would even argue) of multiculturalism.”
Olivier Roy
December 17th, 2010 at 7:47
To Tech’s comment from yesterday about how we’re all lost: My new phone came with GPS. I’m NEVER lost.
Re-Post of quote:
“The initial hostility of European multiculturalist countries toward the French model has turned into a renewed interest: What if the French were right? A sizable number of countries that have embraced multiculturalism so far are about to restrict the wearing of the Islamic veil (the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany). This interest in laicite is primarily negative: it stems from the crisis (from the death, I would even argue) of multiculturalism. If the multicultural model has failed, then one should look at the alternative represented by the French model.”
Olivier Roy in his book Secularism Confronts Islam.
The preface to the book is well worth a read:
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14102-4/secularism-confronts-islam/excerpt
One claim the author makes is that western secularization has christian roots. I guess I’ll have to read the book but it seems to me that this is only true to the extent that western secularism is a reaction to christian authoritarian over-reach. Clearly christianity doesn’t get to claim credit for a philosophy that says “keep your grubby mitts off our schools”.
Another point I think the author is way off the mark is his assertion that the christian right and the secular left are united in their criticism of Islam. Bull shit. I’m sorry to say that the left is still full of self destructive multiculturalist appeasers who get the vapors when someone points out that burqas are degrading instruments of female oppression. And there are still lots of christians that feel “muslims can do what they want with their women” which is consistent with their own (biblically supported) beliefs that women are inferior and subservient to men
But to the meat of the quote. France is just the first and the worst case of the European countries to wake up and find they’ve let the wolves into their hen house. It’s unsurprising but possibly too late that they have now decided that they need to stay French (culturally) to stay France. But they are being out bred by people that are resistant to Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité. They will start to win elections. It’ll be interesting to watch.
I may be on the same side as Mr. Roy but I’m not sure I can go along with some of the points he tries to make.
December 17th, 2010 at 10:11
I’m no multiculturalist either but I’m not sure how comfortable I am with Burqa bans. Initially I gave the French idea a qualified welcome but on the whole I think it is difficult to legislate the oppressed to freedom. Especially when some of them don’t believe they are oppressed. Such is the mental cage of religion.
What we should do is stop supporting cultural ghettos and faith schools that will only allow the second and third generation of Muslim immigrants to cling to the same old repressive dogmas.
December 17th, 2010 at 18:26
Burqas dehumanize women by making them non-entities. Not seen, nor heard. That is against everything that Western civization has been fighting for.