Interesting article by Kenan Malik on the myth of the radicalisation process http://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/myths-of-radicalisation/ (recommended by Sundar Katwala on his Twitter site).
The idea that a network of Muslim clerics are conspiring to bring down Western society by subverting the morals of impressionable young people has always seemed to me like something invented by Sax Rohmer or Eskine Childers.
Kenan Malik tells us:
"The real starting point for the making of a homegrown jihadi is not ‘radicalisation’ but social disengagement, a sense of estrangement from, resentment of, Western society... They are, in many ways, as estranged from Muslim communities as they are from Western societies. Most detest the mores and traditions of their parents, have little time for mainstream forms of Islam, and cut themselves off from traditional community institutions."
This also confirms another long-standing conclusion many people have reached - that multiculturalism as a policy has failed and must be replaced either by a policy of assimilation (complete assimilation, which I suspect is what most young BAME people want) or an increasing "disengagement" that must at some stage become literal and involve relocation elsewhere.
Of course, admitting that a major policy such as multiculturalism has failed is not going to be easy, and will involve a great deal of painful mea culpa from politicians, so it may be some time before it happens.
However one refinement to the immigration process that can be introduced immediately is to assess each candidate on their integration and assimilation suitability - perhaps a cultural test.
The idea that a network of Muslim clerics are conspiring to bring down Western society by subverting the morals of impressionable young people has always seemed to me like something invented by Sax Rohmer or Eskine Childers.
Kenan Malik tells us:
"The real starting point for the making of a homegrown jihadi is not ‘radicalisation’ but social disengagement, a sense of estrangement from, resentment of, Western society... They are, in many ways, as estranged from Muslim communities as they are from Western societies. Most detest the mores and traditions of their parents, have little time for mainstream forms of Islam, and cut themselves off from traditional community institutions."
This also confirms another long-standing conclusion many people have reached - that multiculturalism as a policy has failed and must be replaced either by a policy of assimilation (complete assimilation, which I suspect is what most young BAME people want) or an increasing "disengagement" that must at some stage become literal and involve relocation elsewhere.
Of course, admitting that a major policy such as multiculturalism has failed is not going to be easy, and will involve a great deal of painful mea culpa from politicians, so it may be some time before it happens.
However one refinement to the immigration process that can be introduced immediately is to assess each candidate on their integration and assimilation suitability - perhaps a cultural test.
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