Muslim teenagers in the UK are much more assimilated with the nation than their counterparts growing up in other European countries, new research claims.
For the study, young second generation Pakistanis and Indians who were also Muslims living in Blackburn and Rochdale were compared with Moroccan and Algerian youngsters in France and Turks and former Yugoslavs in Germany.
The British “multicultural” approach of accommodating immigrants actually works better than the French or German approaches, it is claimed.
In France, where head coverings have been banned in schools, there is no allowance for ethnic and religious differences by the state. And the widespread ethnic tensions seen between North Africans and the police in France in 2007 were repeated this summer.
In Germany, unless you have a German ancestor you cannot legally become a German citizen no matter how long your family have settled in the country. Citizenship relies on a German blood line.
The research is to be published in a new book out tomorrow, titled Children of International Migrants in Europe. Professor Roger Penn, from Lancaster University, who co-authored the book said:
“Perceptions of discrimination were lowest in Britain and highest in Germany, reflecting the failure of the German model of exclusive ‘ethnic nationalism’. Britain’s model of multiculturalism is proving far more effective for the incorporation of ethnic minority groups than the French ‘assimilation’ or German ‘ethnic nationalist’ ones. There is simply a moral panic going on about young Muslims because of 7/7.”