Some French Views On Muslim Migrants.

Note: This posting does not use the word 'muslim' but the survey is about them. It is important to have up to date information on social attitudes. This is helpful in helping to find a way through the current difficulties regarding muslims in Western countries. I think that much wisdom is found in treating muslims as individual persons and not as an undifferentiated mass.

Read on...

FRANCE: POLL SNAPSHOT OF ATTITUDES TO IMMIGRANTS

Paris, 13 Oct. (AKI) - Some 73 percent of French people agree with "granting a stay permit to illegal immigrants whose children are attending French schools or who have a work contract" according to a poll published Friday. The research, carried out by the LH2 institute for Radio Monte Carlo and the give-away newspaper "20 Minutes", shows however that only 12 percent of those interviewed want stay permits granted to all illegal immigrants. Ten per cent categorically reject giving any illegal migrants stay permits, while five percent were undecided.

Regarding the measures used to limit illegal immigration in France, 78 percent of those polled endorsed the idea of helping the countries of origin of the immigrants, while 64 percent support the idea of family reunions.


Regarding the annual quota system - that is the maximum number of immigrants allowed to enter the country, 55 percent backed the idea, 47 percent believed 'selective immigration' was a feasbile solution while 17 percent favoured giving stay permits to all illegal immigrants.

In questions on the phenomenon of racism 63 percent of the people questioned said they were "not at all racist" while 29 percent "reluctantly" refused to describe themselves as racists. Six percent of the interviewees said they were "mainly racist" while a mere one percent refused to reply.

The poll was carried out between 6-7 October on a 1000-strong sample, representative of the French adult population.




Comment: Australia should be giving a lead, quietly, on the integration of muslims into a western country. We are achieving this integration, mostly successfully, in Australia. I suggest that the way forward...best for both the muslims and Australia as a whole...is to treat each muslim as an individual person. Currently, government policy tends to deal with Institutional Islam. This is a mistake as it leads to the domination of the individual muslim by the strong and powerful muslims who control the muslim institutions.

Australia is a nation where the individual is rather well equipped to avoid excessive domination by institutions. This is not so strongly the case in muslim lands and communities. When muslims come to Australia they may not be especially aware that they are living in a society where they, as individuals, can thrive without having to defer ceaselessly to Islamic institutions. Government policies should be such as to promote this Australian idea of freedom and defend the muslim individuals who seek to make use of the normal liberties available in Australia.