OPINION:
For decades, successive governments have struggled to address the consequences of immigration, cultural tensions and inadequate integration.
Political leaders who avoid these questions in the name of political correctness risk deepening the very divisions they claim to oppose.
Immigration policy is not merely about borders. It is also about protecting individual freedoms, secular institutions and the shared principles that hold a democratic society together.
People were interested in these podcasts
Demographic changes make this debate increasingly important. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2020 Muslims accounted for approximately 9.1% of France’s population. An earlier Pew scenario projected that this share could reach 17.4% by 2050 under certain migration assumptions.
These figures do not establish that religious demographics cause unrest. They do, however, underscore why integration policy deserves serious public debate.
More than two decades ago, the influential Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated in 2002, warned about mass immigration, failed integration and what he described as the Islamization of society. His views were controversial, but the questions he raised have not disappeared.
History offers another perspective. Following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, religious authority became the foundation of the state and individual freedoms were severely restricted. Ironically, France had provided refuge to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who used his exile there to communicate his revolutionary message before returning to Iran.
France is not Iran and Muslim citizens should never be equated with political Islam. Yet defending freedom of religion must go hand in hand with defending secular democracy against those who seek to subordinate it to religious authority.
Not every riot in France can be attributed to immigration or Islam. But dismissing legitimate concerns about integration and social cohesion can fuel resentment, polarization and support for radical political movements.
The question is no longer whether Europe faces challenges involving immigration and integration. It is how much more social division governments will tolerate before taking political responsibility.
FARID ALAMDAR
’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
Please read our comment policy before commenting.