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Thursday, November 10, 2005

Exclusion V. Existence

Posted by on November 10 at 18:20 PM

What’s interesting to me about the French riots is that they strike a totally different note than other instances of Muslim dissent that have erupted in the 21st Century. In this instance, America isn’t the villain, but seems, in fact, to be the ideal. Earlier this week, the AP wrote:

Abdelkarim Carrasco, a leader of Spain’s estimated 1 million-member Muslim community, said the French experience poses a key test for Europe.

“Either Europe develops and supports the idea of a mixed culture, or Europe has no future,” he said. “Europe has to learn from what the United States has done. It is a country that has taken in people from all over the world.”

Indeed, the rioters aren’t burning American and Israeli flags and blaming all their problems on the West.

These protesters are angry about their exclusion from the 21st Century, rather than about the existence of the 21st Century.