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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (134989)	5/30/2004 5:54:43 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

One problem with the Catholics - and I am a Catholic so it's not prejudiced to say this - is that the Pope doesn't really believe in the separation of church and state. There are similar problems with Islamism - that's motivated by a desire for an Islamic state run according to shariah law, and the birds we have here in the US who want to put references to God everywhere, like monuments to the Ten Commandments in government office buildings. In other words, it's not religion that's the problem, nor even religious freedom, but wanting to run everybody else's life according to your religion. There are probably plenty of Muslims in France that would rather not have to please the local Imam, but you know what peer pressure is like. If forced to choose between fitting into your community or going it alone, most knuckle under. And, as you say, with enough of your own kind to achieve critical mass, you don't have to assimilate.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (134989)	5/30/2004 7:25:48 PM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Hi Maurice Winn; Re: "But Carl, Irish-Americans were avid funders and supporters of the IRA. Note that they even retain the word Irish in their self-description." What's your point here? If those "Irish-Americans" had stayed in Ireland they'd have still been likely to contribute to the IRA. I would guess that those who left included many of those who were most unhappy with the Brits. And the Irish are not now and never have been a threat to the US. The Muslims that move to France won't be much of a threat to France. I wouldn't doubt that they send money back to Al Qaeda, but they would have done that if they'd still been living in their homeland. If Al Qaeda starts blowing stuff up in France, it will likely cause the French Muslims to quit supporting them, (just as would have happened in the US). Re: "The Moslems of Europe aren't going to turn into nice French boys. They have a critical mass, stick with their culture and they will enforce their religious ideology if they get a chance." These are all vicious bigoted things that were once said about the Irish in the US, LOL, and are just as bigoted now. Re: "For a start, they insist on wearing burkahs to school! Or veils or something. Religious freedom and all that." What's your point here? That France is going to die as a nation because of a dress code??? If you lived in the US, you'd discover that a society is able to peacefully coexist with all kinds of dress habits. Eventually, their kids will rebel, and insist on wearing classic American attire (g-strings and "wife beater" shirts). Re: "But look to Northern Ireland for what happens when push comes to shove over religion and power." Northern Ireland was violent because the government there was controlled by Protestants and was anti-Catholic. When they agreed to simply let the Catholics live in peace under equal rights (etc.) before the law, the IRA lost its support. -- Carl