Denmark: Correction to yesterday’s story

Kristeligt Dagblad published a correction to their story from yesterday. Non-Western immigrant women have 1.9 children on average, just like Danish women.

Yesterday Kristeligt Dagblad reported, based on data from the Ministry of Integration, that non-Western immigrant women had less children on average. The ministry apologized for its mistake. The figure of 1.6 children per women was for Western immigrants.

Source: Kristeligt Dagblad (Danish)

Denmark: Non-Western women having less children than Danes

Update: updated figures for previous years.

A long-time trend of fewer births among immigrants means that their birthrate is now lower than for ethnic Danes. While Danish women have 1.9 children on average, non-Western immigrant women have 1.6. [Ed: 1997: 1.97/1998: 1.94 ]

This according to new data for fertility in 2009, provided by Denmark Statistics for the Integration Ministry, but which hasn’t been published yet. The birthrate among immigrant women has been cut by more than half since 1993, when the average woman had 3.4 children, twice as many as Danish women did.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Garbi Schmidt, senior researcher and Phd of Islamic Studies at SFI (National Centre for Social Research) sees several explanation for this development.

One is that ethnic minority women are postponing having children in order to further their education. There’s now a lot of emphasis on having more people study, and the educational system is very competitive.

Another reason is that the immigrant way of life is becoming more and more similar to that of Danes. Immigrant are copying Danish norms and values regarding family, marriage and education. This means that ethnic minority women put off creating families, and this also affect the men.

Garbi Schmidt also thinks that the stricter laws for family reunification led to this development. Last year an SFI study she led showed that some youth of ethnic minority background postpone marriage to these laws. This means, she says, that they’ll have children at a later age, and possibly fewer children.

Manu Sareen, integration consultant and member of the Copenhagen city council (Social Liberals), says that this development is ‘totally wild’ and that it is due to a decade of political attention. Throughout the years there’s been a silent revolution among minority women, who are breaking away from the social traditions. The government were super good in supporting this development with projects, mentors etc. There’s no doubt, he says, that this is one of the fruits of this effort and that the integration ministry can be proud of it.

He adds that a change in the migration pattern might also play a role in this development. Today many immigrants from non-Western countries come from the cities and are more educated than those who came in the 1990s.

Karsten Lauritzen, integration spokesperson for the Liberals, agree and is happy about the development. He says it shows that many immigrant women are educated and employed and that integration is advancing.

Source: Kristeligt Dagblad (Danish)

Denmark: More 2nd generation immigrants buying residences

A third of non-Western second generation immigrants aged 30 own their residences, reports Statistics Denmark. The same goes for 40% of non-Western second generation immigrants aged 35.

Descendants of immigrants are getting into the ownership market much more than their parents. 21-29% of non-Western immigrants live in their own residence. Among those over 50 the percentage is highest at 29%.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Immigrants and their descendants are less likely to buy a residence than somebody of Danish origin.

Half of Danish 30 year old live in their own residence, as does a majority (61%) of all people between 25 and 60. That’s 64% among Danes, 42% for Western immigrants and 26% for non-Western immigrants.

48% of descendants of Western immigrants live in their own residence, compared to 33% of non-Western descendants. Statistics Denmark concludes that’s because the descendants of non-Western immigrants are very young.

The percent of residence owners generally increases with age, until people are in their 60s. 33% of those aged 25-29, 56% of people in their thirties 30-39, 65% of people in their forties, and the greatest share of 68% of those in their fifties, live in their own residence.

Source: Fyens.dk (Danish)

Denmark: New attack planned against Mohamed cartoonist?

The Danish authorities are going to check whether authorities in North Africa foiled a new plot against Kurt Westergaard, the famous Mohammed cartoonist.

Westergaard was attacked once in his home by an axe wielding Somali earlier this year. Another plot was foiled in 2008, when several Tunisian and Moroccans were arrested in Aarhus.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Peter Skaarup of the Danish People’s Party turned to the Danish Justice Minister, Lars Barfoed, saying that two men were imprisoned in North Africa, suspected of wanting to carry out an attack against Kurt Westergaard.

I could not find any more information about this story, and it’s unclear to me where the DPP took their information from.

In a related story, Indonesian police arrested several terror suspects who were apparently planning an attack against the Danish embassy in Jakarta. The Danish Muslim Joint Council said in response (DA) that it is shameful and totally unacceptable that anybody would intend to carry out terrorist acts of any type against civilian targets. “Any form of terrorism is and will always be in conflict with Islam and can in no way be justified,” the council said in a press release.

Source: Berlingske Tidende (Danish)

Copenhagen: Criticism of imam proposal to mediate in gang attacks

The Danish People’s Party (DPP) is demanding that the government intervene in the case of the Netto supermarket branch which had to close due to violence and threats against the employees. Sharp criticism of the mediation efforts between Netto, imams and gang leaders.

The DPP is demanding the government act, and asks Justice Minister Lars Barfoed (K) to intervene in the case of the Netto branch in Blågårdsgade in Nørrebro (Copenhagen), which had to close last week after violence and threats against the employees.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

“This is an appeal saying that it’s important that the government and the Copenhagen municipality will get their act together and do something about the troublemakers in Nørrebro,” says the justice and integration spokesperson Peter Skaarup, who wants more gang members in jail, better options for deporting criminal foreigners and better police efforts in Nørrebro.

“It is important that the police recaptures the area and show that they’re the ones who decide,” says Peter Skaarup.

He also lashed out at imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen, who proposed to mediate between Netto and immigrant groups in Nørrebro, with the informal gang leader “Little A” in the lead.

“For me it looks like a completely crazy idea, that imams and extreme groups will decide anything. It’s not their department and it should never be, either,” says Peter Skaarup.

Politicians in the Copenhagen municipality were also outraged at the imam’s attempt at mediation.

“It’s a dangerous development and deeply problematic to have religious people solve problems, and I don’t want to participate in Little A’s, Abdul Wahid’s or Jønke’s [Hell's Angels spokesman] media circus. They don’t contribute anything,” says Lars Aslam Rasmussen, a representative of the Social Democrats on the council.

He stresses that the perpetrators who caused fear among Netto’s employees are a hard core, which is not within educational reach.

“It’s the police, who will deal with them,” he says.

“I can’t understand that any special imam will get involved in this. Why would a religious man and a local gangster, who plays fandango in the area, solve a conflict,” Lars Berg Dueholm (Liberals) told Berlingske Tidende.

Manu Sareen, representative for the Social Liberals, called the mediation attempt a “difficult issue”.

“It’s always good when people sit down and want to solve problems on their own. But it’s not just any citizens involved in this conflict. I’m afraid it will send a signal to other people that “it’s us, who set the agenda, it’s us who decide’. We’ve unfortunately seen it before, when the youth began to search people in Nørrebro. It’s a slippery slope, which concerns me,” he says.

———–

Local in Nørrebro shake their head in response to the proposal to put the head of the Blågårds Plads gang in the position of peace broker in Nørrebro.

Resident spokesperson in Mjølnerparken, Mohammed Aslam, summarizes as such the proposal to position one of the gang conflict’s most central people – Little A. – as one who would try to bring peace and tolerance to Nørrebro.

“If ‘Little A’ now decided to lay down all crime and get a freshs start in life, then it’s good. But if that’s not the case, it seems very strange, that he would act in the role of peace broker,” says Mohammed Aslam.

In an interview to Politiken on Saturday, ‘Lille A’ said that he’s given the vandals order to act properly. At the same time Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen suggests that ‘Lille A.’ (Abde Benarabe) will be involved in trying to bring calm to the Netto business.

Abde Benarabe has been charged in several crimes, including shooting in Christiania and an assault with a tuning fork. But he’s never been convicted of anything.

According to the police, Hells Angels had plans to kill Little A. when his big brother – ‘Big A.’ – was convicted for violence and extortion in the Copenhagen court last year. The murder attempt was frustrated when passer-bys acted.

Instead of including Benarabe in the negotiations about Nørrebro’s future well-being, the head of the Father’s Group in Nørrebro, Khalid Alsubeihi, suggests to establish a parents council who would advise disadvantaged families on their criminal children.

———–

Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen wants to go forward with his proposal for a peace meeting between gang leader Abde Benarabe (Little A.) and Netto, the imam said after massive criticism of the proposal to put one of the most central figure in the Copenhagen gang conflict in the position of a peace broker in Nørrebro.

The meeting is supposed to stop further violence and harassment against the employees of the Netto shop in Blågårdsgade, but just the debate about the meeting has been good, says the imam.

“The purpose of all of this was just to get Netto to feel safe again and reopen the shop, which will all want,” says Wahid Pedersen.

“And Abde (Benarabe) clearly said that the community in the Blågårds Plads area support Netto, so in this way the debate about the meeting has been beneficial,” he says.

The row started more than a week ago, when a cashier presumed to close the cash register where some local youth stood in line, due to technical problems. They cashier was beaten up (see video here), and since then their colleagues had been harassed on the street.

Q: You have no problem at all about making a notorious gang leader into a peace broker in public?

“Now he’s certainly not convicted of anything, people should remember that. But my primary aim was something else, namely to get people around Blågårds Plads to show that they support Netto,” says Wahid Pedersen.

Q: And so you have no problem with giving a man, who’s associated with organized crime, the title of ‘peace prince’?

“It might be that such a title would contribute to obligating him. But again: my aim was to involve the community here and get the parties to talk, so we could all get Netto back in the area,” says Wahid Pedersen.

Netto the police and the municipality will meet on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Source: Berlingske Tidende 1, 2, 3 (Danish)

Denmark: 20% of immigrant women fail language course

Language schools are failing to teach Danish to women with an immigrant background causing issues with the integration process

A new study carried out by the Rockwool Foundation has revealed that a fifth of immigrant women who take Danish classes fail to finish their course and take exams.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Marie Louise Schultz-Nielsen, a researcher at the Rockwool Foundation, called the women’s inability to finish their studies ‘deeply worrying.’

‘It is not encouraging for the integration process that so many women are unable to take an active role in Danish society,’ she said.

Geert Laier Christensen, the former head of liberal think-tank CEPOS, told Berlingske Tidende newspaper: ‘We have a large group of isolated women who are costing our society a lot of money. At the same time, this will affect the next generation of immigrants if their mothers cannot be integrated because they lack language skills.’

Source: Copenhagen Post

Denmark: Visit by Ghana’s chief imam

Ghana’s chief national imam is on his way to Denmark, where he will try to improve dialog and mutual understanding between European and African Muslims, and between Muslims and Christians in general.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Dr. Sheik Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu flew from Ghana’s capital, Accra, on Monday, according to the country’s national news agency GNA.

The visit in Denmark is by invitation of the Danish National Council of Churches, who say that Ghana’s top imam is coming to Denmark at the head of a nine-member delegation.

“The delegation will come to the Islamic-Christian study center in Copenhagen Tuesday evening, and will tell about Christian-Muslim relations in Ghana,” says the Council of Churches.

“Additionally the imam wishes to explore opportunities for improving the image of Islam in those countries where there’s a negative attitude towards Islam. He sees it as an Islamic obligation to extend a hand in friendship to non-Muslims,” the Council of Churches says.

After the visit in Denmark, Ghana’s chief imam and his delegation will continue to the US.

Source: Fyens Stiftstidende (Danish)

Copenhagen: Mosque open house

Dialog between Danes and Muslims, that’s the goal of the Islamic Faith Society when they invite people to an open house in their mosque in Copenhagen next week, says spokesperson Bettina Meisner.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

“We have no requirement for people to become Muslim after participating in our event. We want to have a dialog with Danish society about what is Islam and show that it’s not a closed religion which oppresses women,” says Bettina Meisner.

She adds that 500-1000 visitors come when the faith-society organizes open house events.

“Those who come to the open house say that they get insight into the world of Muslim and disprove some prejudices. For example, many discover that the position of women in Islam is not oppressive to women, but that women have an important role in the Muslim world,” says Bettina Meisner.

Integration expert and member of the Copenhagen council Manu Sareen thinks that open house events in various faith-societies are important for integration.

“If there’s something we need in Denmark, it’s some platforms where people meet. There is so much separation between Danes and Muslims. We go round and think a lot about each other without really knowing each other. It’s much easier to be negative towards each other when you don’t have contact,” says Manu Sareen.

He thinks that people who participate in the open house event will either have their prejudices confirmed or disproved.

“The vast majority of Danes get their primary information about Muslims through the media, and it’s not a particularly flattering image, what’s shown. Instead the media contributes to creating a very negative discourse, which greatly affects the Danes. So I certainly welcome those open house events. There’s a need for that,” says Manu Sareen.

Source: Kristeligt Dagblad (Danish)

EU: Responses to Gaza flotilla attack

Various anti-Israel protests are already planned across Europe. I’ll be updating this thread throughout the day.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

FIOE ( Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe) message:

In the very early hours of this Monday morning, Israeli military forces—by premeditated decision of their government—committed a gross and bloody act of piracy against the “Freedom Flotilla”; ships that had embarked from several European ports aiming to take humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, who are suffering under a strangling and immoral blockade.

(…)

The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe emphasises that the “Freedom Flotilla” is a live expression of human conscience rising against the unjust blockade inflicted on the Palestinian people in Gaza; given that this blockade is a reprehensible crime rejected by religion, human values, moral standards, and international conventions. These seafarers travelling to Gaza present an image of courageous human solidarity that has broken the wall of silence surrounding the blockade, and scored a victory for the right of peoples to life and dignity.

The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe condemns in the strongest possible terms this act of piracy and mass killing perpetrated against the “Freedom Flotilla”, and demands serious and urgent official European action to confront this dangerous piracy, and bloody massacre, and put an end to a long series of blatant Israeli violations.

The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe also expresses its solidarity with those humanitarian organisations, public figures, and European and world media participating in the Freedom Flotilla, and calls upon civil society and media institutions in Europe to take up responsible stances corresponding to the enormity of the crime, and to focus attention on the grave and serious nature of this bloody attack on a humanitarian convoy, as well as the crime of a suffocating blockade inflicted on human beings.

The Federation calls upon Muslims in Europe, and the general public in European societies, to urgently mobilise—in wide-scale and public action, to condemn the blatant piracy and bloody massacre perpetrated against the Freedom Flotilla, and to escalate in the legitimate demand for a lifting of the unjust blockade on Gaza that can no longer be tolerated.

————–

Danish MP was to have been on Gaza vessel

A Danish MP, who was to have been on board an aid convoy to Gaza, is to call for action from the Danish government and the EU after Israel’s action against a Gaza aid convoy which is reported to have cost the lives of at least 10 people and injured some 30.

Socialist People’s Party MP Kamal Qureshi was invited to take part in the six-vessel convoy, but was prevented from taking part due to parliamentary work.

“This was a serious and unnecessary provocation. It is difficult to be a friend of Israel at the moment. I will be raising this issue with the foreign minister and the European Union. It was unacceptable and must be condemned,” says Qureshi.

(more)

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Demonstrations in Sweden

About 35 people gathered in front of the Israeli embassy (SE) in Stockholm, Sweden. Three people were arrested after trying to prevent people from coming or going into the embassy.

Several protests are planned for later this evening in Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg.

Demonstrations in the Netherlands

The Dutch Palestine Committee is organizing a protest (NL) at the Israel Embassy in the Hague, together with a number of other Palestinian and Turkish organizations. Milli Gorus called its followers to join. The Jewish organization “A different Jewish voice” is also participating. 200-300 people are expected.

Demonstrations in the UK

MPACUK is organizing protests across the UK.

Pakistan: Danish journalist kicked out

Danish journalist Puk Damsgård Andersen has been declared persona non grata by Pakistan. Despite Danish pressure, no solution has been found, and the journalist has left Pakistan for Denmark.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Conservative Pakistani newspaper The Nation, citing sources within the Interior Ministry, reported that Andersen was being deported because she was a target for extremists and authorities were unable to offer her protection.

The newspaper also reported that the Dane had distributed copies of the controversial Mohammed cartoons and ‘her stay with an American official of the US embassy also raised many doubts about her character’.

Sources: Kristeligt Dagblad (Danish), Copenhagen Post (English)