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Madrassa Plan Is Monstrosity

Submitted by Suzanne, Jul 16, 2007 11:21

I am more than a little startled by the analogies drawn with events in the Netherlands.

Anyone who has spent significant amounts of time in Europe over the last two to three decades -- as I have -- can easily detect the roots of radicalization of Muslim youth. They lie in the marginalization of their communities within mainstream Europe, rather than anything inherent in the religion. Their parents and grandparents were imported to do the work that Europeans wouldn't do at the wages that were offered (notice any parallels to our own situation here??) and outright discrimination coupled with relative poverty confined them to public housing ghettos.

The problem? The children born in countries like France and the Netherlands grew up as any other French or Dutch child -- only to discover that despite being born in those countries, they would never be accepted as part of the mainstream society. In contrast to the United States -- an immigrant society that over the centuries has learned through sometimes bitter experience how to absorb new communities -- European society is very exclusionist. A 2004 study showed that someone with a typically-French name was five times more likely to be offered a job than someone with the identical resume but a North African or Muslim sounding name. Potential employers routinely discriminate using names, addresses (wrong -- i.e. immigrant, neighborhood), and even postal codes. Little wonder that some turn to radicalism and others to mindless violence, as in last year's urban riots in Paris.

How bad is this? Well, it's routine in Belgium and parts of the Netherlands to put the label "Djeeks" (don't ask me the derivation -- I didn't want to ask) on people of Moroccan and Tunisian origins, and to hear even educated Dutch and French individuals use profanity in describing Muslims. The kind of language that the FCC doesn't approve of.

And the Dutch, despite benign policies favoring mutliculturalism, are not the tolerant people that they may appear to be from the outside. It's quite possible for children of Turkish immigrants to be rejected as purchasers of new homes in upscale communities -- even with the financing in place. And that kind of attitude is not specific to Muslims: 20% of Dutch people (says our own State Dept.) have openly anti-Semitic attitudes, and hundreds of anti-Semitic incidents are reported annually -- Anne Frank's house notwithstanding.

The reality is that in a country with little experience of absorbing waves of immigrants, discrimination and intolerance is a given. I would have hoped that in the United States we could do better. Perhaps not, if Ms. Colon's attitudes reflect the beliefs of those who have been successfully absorbed by our system. It would be a sad day if all of us reacted to our historic success as immigrants by denying the next wave the same opportunity. And yes, pride in one's heritage, including language, is part of that. Why else have Latino celebrations, St. Patrick's Day, San Gennaro, etc. become an integral part of the city's life?

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Indeed, racist and small minded comments like this are horrific. You should be absolutely ashamed at yourself, please, seek professional... [MORE]	Plouviez	Sep 6, 2008 19:21
Well what can i say about the author of the article. Nobody likes terrorists, but nobody likes the americans and... [MORE]	AJ	Sep 4, 2007 04:13
To AJ, I read your comments and was offended. As an American who happens to love my country, right or... [MORE]	Michael	Apr 30, 2008 09:39
Other things Wilders and his cronies want is to send people home where they originate from, and he does't care... [MORE]	Johan	Aug 23, 2007 10:25
wow Alicia. There's a big difference between Arabs and Muslims. i've noticed so many stereotypes and im shock that you... [MORE]	S.Y	Aug 15, 2007 02:21
Wow, Alicia! I am shocked with your attitude towards Muslim. As Egyptian, I always had in mind this beautiful picture... [MORE]	Rania	Aug 16, 2007 05:08
What do Bloomberg, Hilary, and Shumer have to say ????? [MORE]	Steve	Aug 6, 2007 07:17
I am more than a little startled by the analogies drawn with events in the Netherlands. Anyone who has spent significant...	Suzanne	Jul 16, 2007 11:21
I guess i am a little late on this since no one has posted in over two months. However, without even... [MORE]	sam pierre	Jul 13, 2007 22:28
1. How exactly will a publicly funded American school get out of control to the point that it can't be... [MORE]	j. perry	Jul 16, 2007 15:04
To forget seems to be the pattern for some Americans. 911 is and should be a reminder of what the... [MORE]	Natalie	Jun 21, 2007 12:20
Hahahaha...nice going. Now write the article that says that this was just a little something that you tossed out there... [MORE]	Rich	Jun 10, 2007 15:08
Interesting how ethnic groups who were accepted into this country have no problem threatening newer groups with torches. "An eye... [MORE]	mt	May 18, 2007 14:56
I can easily classify this article from someone who needs to calm down and think about the issue at hand. ... [MORE]	Mustafa	Aug 20, 2007 23:41
This is not only narrow-minded, uneducated, and misleading, but it also shows an inability to accept one of the world's... [MORE]	Sarah	May 17, 2007 20:31
I'd vote for her [MORE]	E	May 16, 2007 16:37
This article isn't pro or con madrassa; it points out one pure and simple fact. The public school system of... [MORE]	Charley	May 7, 2007 13:17
I completely agree with this article. We should learn from the mistakes made in Europe where this road was taken... [MORE]	Arden Young	May 7, 2007 08:32
I lived in the Netherlands for some time, and the Netherlands is far from it, it has a highet per... [MORE]	Emily	May 10, 2007 00:08
I am from the Netherlands, lived in Amsterdam for ten years, fled to New York in October 2003. The writer of... [MORE]	Peter Verkooijen	May 16, 2007 14:53
How could something so blatantly racist get published in a city newspaper? Equating the 9/11 perps with all the arabic speaking... [MORE]	A Parekh	May 5, 2007 17:49
I can't believe you and your spurious reasoning. When I was a child, I lived near a Jewish community and... [MORE]	Richard J. Palmer	May 5, 2007 02:58
I couldn't have said it better myself. Hand me that placard. I'll be protesting right next to you. [MORE]	Irene	May 5, 2007 01:32
Always LOVE your columns but this one is the best yet!! Help! The world has gone mad. Thank you for... [MORE]	Andrea B.	May 6, 2007 14:26
Ms. Colon, you should be absolutely ashamed of your comments, in fact, I am embarrased for you. I went to... [MORE]	Emily Fung	May 4, 2007 14:14
It is good to see that someone is paying attention to history, world events and current situations in this turbulent... [MORE]	milford421	May 31, 2007 09:34
As a founder and charter member of the AFL/CIO United Federation of Teachers in NYC, former chapter chairman in my... [MORE]	Alan Bergstein	May 4, 2007 14:12
\Who are you pandering to? [MORE]	Peter McCormick	May 4, 2007 13:34
When I grew up in the early 1940's, I attened a Polish school in Brooklyn where Polish culture and language... [MORE]	Robert P. Bradley	May 4, 2007 13:28
All of the tolerance defenders commenting here ignore the distinction between content and form. The form is that of a... [MORE]	Brian Hall	May 7, 2007 11:45
word. my thoughts exactly. [MORE]	hb	May 17, 2007 16:50
Should we carry torches to all Catholic schools too? How about Jewish academies? Oh, I know, let's gather up all... [MORE]	Maggie	May 4, 2007 13:13
I think the point here is that there is room for all kinds of schools, but taxpayers should not be... [MORE]	Diane	Aug 15, 2007 09:01
So let me get this straight, what Alicia Colon is trying to say is that anyplace where Arabic is spoken... [MORE]	Leah	May 4, 2007 11:11
I can't believe the New York Sun would publish such TRASH! We have schools in the United States for every... [MORE]	TJGodel	May 4, 2007 07:56
How many of the 9/11 hijackers were elementary school students from Brooklyn? [MORE]	tps12	May 3, 2007 19:55
my first school in pakistan was one run by a church and we had actual nuns and priests running it...actually... [MORE]	assad	May 4, 2007 07:46
You definitely have a point in pointing to failed Multicultural experiments in The Netherlands and elsewhere. Debates over cultural integrity,... [MORE]	Navid	May 3, 2007 08:14
Continuing to blame an entire segment of the world community for the actions of individuals is not only unjust... [MORE]	Lorrin	May 8, 2007 10:06
Alicia Colon for president! On second thought, I do not wish that upon her; the baseless, self-serving mockery, and despicable... [MORE]	John Spencer Yantiss	May 1, 2007 20:34
As a Dutch Reformed pastor, a Dutch speaker, and a convinced Calvinist, I can vouch for the fact that Ms.... [MORE]	Daniel Meeter	May 1, 2007 16:38
once again ms colon is arrow accurate...once a school like this is an established fact...the ethnic and religious pressure groups... [MORE]	david freedberg	May 1, 2007 14:55
Ms. Colon is exactly right, as she usually is. This is an outrage, but it is not the only outrage... [MORE]	J. Callahan	May 1, 2007 16:44
I find it strange that they chose a Christian name for the School. Is it a ploy at pretending this... [MORE]	reza	Oct 18, 2007 12:11
I think you are too busy comparing Arabs with the word "terrorists". True, it is proposed that the ones responsible... [MORE]	Ben	May 1, 2007 14:25