Are We Honest about Migration?
With Omar Sayfo
I sat down with Omar Sayfo to discuss migration in Europe. We unpacked where both the left and right get it wrong when talking about migration.
Sayfo states that the left often views migrants as victims in desperate need of assistance, while the right tends to frame the issue primarily as religious or one of civilizational preservation. But is migration a cultural issue at its core? Are we overemphasizing ideology over cultural differences? Could these differences make it harder for some migrants to assimilate? And, importantly, what percentage of migrants can genuinely integrate into European society? And does successful integration depend upon the migrant’s country of origin?
We also discussed how best to categorize migration—should it be based on culture and class, religion and racial background, or something else? We tackled whether there could be a Muslim “takeover" of Europe, and if the Western way of life is significantly altered by the influx of Islamic migrants?
Omar makes the case that citizenship is a critical pathway for successful assimilation, arguing that governments often make it unnecessarily difficult for people who want to be productive members of society. We discussed whether migration that conflicts with Europe's core values and norms should continue. Finally, we pondered whether reducing Muslim migration could protect vulnerable communities, like the Jewish community, from potential clashes—or worse.
It was a thought-provoking conversation, and I hope you enjoy it!
I find it paradoxical that some who advocate for open immigration also describe the United States as fundamentally flawed. It seems contradictory to encourage people to migrate to a place one characterizes as deeply problematic.
Peter - I was very disappointed with your guest. He has worked as a researcher at Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies since 2019. His work at Migration Research Institute focuses on the "integration of European Muslim diasporas" and the dynamics of Middle Eastern societies. I can't say if he is/was a Muslim or not but his interview with you paints the picture of someone trying to defend Islamic Immigration specifically and Islam in general.
When you asked your guest what the LEFT and RIGHT each get wrong about migration the only thing he came up with for what the RIGHT get's wrong is that the focus too much on the migrants religion, specifically when they are Muslim. That's NOT getting something wrong. That is being smart. Islam is NOT a religion of peace. Just because some or even a large percentage of it's followers don't practice the more violent and lethal aspects of the faith, that doesn't magically make it a religion of peace. The faiths own text say it's OK to lie and use deception when dealing with infidels, when dealing with non-Muslims. That means we can't any of them take at their word. We can't trust anything a Muslim says until proven because they may be lying to advance their faith.
Pretending that Islam is not a threat to the non-Islamic world is not an act of enlightenment as western academics proclaim. The academic world has this dangerous obsession with promoting Islam as the innocents princess while Christianity is the real threat to "democracy". Both faiths have violent pats but what make's them significantly different today is that with the coming of Jesus Christ the old more violent parts of Christianity were replaced. The New testament replaced the Old Testament making the Old Testament a book of history more so than an instruction manual although it does still have parts applicable today. Islam has NEVER changed it's ultra violent past it has simply chosen to be smarter with how it advances the faith's agenda which is global conquest. This is not something the Muslim world has kept quiet about either; their very open about their goal being complete and total domination of teh planet. Instead of engaging in open conquest today they use deception and it has worked wonderfully with the Western Academics.
Just because it's "not all Muslims" doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful and mindful of what we do with the Muslim world. There are some very radical Christian churches out there like the Westborro Baptists church. While I know the West Borrow churches more violent actions are not representative of Christians as a whole, I can count on their belief that Christ is the savior, is the same across all Christians. Thus it's possible for all within a religion to share a common belief while not sharing that same level of belief in all aspects of the faith.