has never been under the auspices of only one superpower. These are
destabilizing facts. But one thing has not changed. The Balkan has
always been the battlefield of numerous clashing and equally potent
interests coupled with military might.
In the last decade, the West has been busy establishing protectorates
(Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and now, most probably, Macedonia) and
effectively altering borders without admitting to it. NATO, that cold
war anachronism, is still busy maintaining its southern flank, composed
of the eternal adversaries, Turkey and Greece. Turkey is the natural
road to Central Asia and its oil riches and, further on, to an
ominously emerging China. The Balkan is, once again, the playground of
the grand designers.
Europe's New Jews
By: Dr. Sam Vaknin
Also published by United Press International (UPI)
Also Read
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The Economies of the Middle East
Turkey's Jewish Friend
They inhabit self-imposed ghettoes, subject to derision and worse, the
perennial targets of far-right thugs and populist politicians of all
persuasions. They are mostly confined to menial jobs. They are accused
of spreading crime, terrorism and disease, of being backward and
violent, of refusing to fit in.
Their religion, atavistic and rigid, insists on ritual slaughter and
male circumcision. They rarely mingle socially or inter-marry. Most of
them - though born in European countries - are not allowed to vote.
Brown-skinned and with a marked foreign accent, they are subject to
police profiling and harassment and all manner of racial
discrimination.
They are the new Jews of Europe - its Muslim minorities.
Muslims - especially Arab youths from North Africa - are, indeed,
disproportionately represented in crime, including hate crime, mainly
against the Jews. Exclusively Muslim al-Qaida cells have been
discovered in many West European countries. But this can be safely
attributed to ubiquitous and trenchant long-term unemployment and to
stunted upward mobility, both social and economic due largely to latent
or expressed racism.
Moreover, the stereotype is wrong. The incidence of higher education
and skills is greater among Muslim immigrants than in the general
population - a phenomenon known as "brain drain". Europe attracts the
best and the brightest - students, scholars, scientists, engineers and
intellectuals - away from their destitute, politically dysfunctional
and backward homelands.
The Economist surveys the landscape of friction and withdrawal:
"Indifference to Islam has turned first to disdain, then to suspicion
and more recently to hostility ... (due to images of) petro-powered
sheikhs, Palestinian terrorists, Iranian ayatollahs, mass immigration
and then the attacks of September 11th, executed if not planned by
western-based Muslims and succored by an odious regime in Afghanistan
... Muslims tend to come from poor, rural areas; most are ill-educated,
many are brown. They often encounter xenophobia and discrimination,
sometimes made worse by racist politicians. They speak the language of
the wider society either poorly or not at all, so they find it hard to
get jobs. Their children struggle at school. They huddle in poor
districts, often in state-supplied housing ... They tend to withdraw
into their own world, (forming a) self-sufficient, self-contained
community."
This self-imposed segregation has multiple dimensions. Clannish
behavior persists for decades. Marriages are still arranged - reluctant
brides and grooms are imported from the motherland to wed immigrants
from the same region or village. The "parallel society", in the words
of a British government report following the Oldham riots two years
ago, extends to cultural habits, religious practices and social norms.
Assimilation and integration has many enemies.
Remittances from abroad are an important part of the gross national
product and budgetary revenues of countries such as Bangladesh and
Pakistan. Hence their frantic efforts to maintain the cohesive national
and cultural identity of the expats.
DITIB is an arm of the Turkish government's office for religious
affairs. It discourages the assimilation or social integration of Turks
in Germany. Turkish businesses - newspapers, satellite TV, foods,
clothing, travel agents, publishers - thrive on ghettoization.
There is a tacit confluence of interests between national governments,
exporters and Islamic organizations. All three want Turks in Germany to
remain as Turkish as possible. The more nostalgic and homebound the
expatriate - the larger and more frequent his remittances, the higher
his consumption of Turkish goods and services and the more prone he is
to resort to religion as a determinant of his besieged and fracturing
identity.
Muslim numbers are not negligible. Two European countries have Muslim
majorities - Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. Others - in both Old
Europe and its post-communist east - harbor sizable and growing Islamic
minorities. Waves of immigration and birth rates three times as high as
the indigenous population increase their share of the population in
virtually every European polity - from Russia to Macedonia and from
Bulgaria to Britain. One in seven Russians is Muslim - over 20 million
people.
According to the March-April issue of Foreign Policy, the non-Muslim
part of Europe will shrink by 3.5 percent by 2015 while the Muslim
populace will likely double. There are 3 million Turks in Germany and
another 12 million Muslims - Algerians, Moroccans, Pakistanis,
Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Senegalese, Malis, or Tunisians - in the rest
of the European Union.
This is two and one half times the number of Muslims in the United
States. Even assuming - wrongly - that all of them occupy the lowest
decile of income, their combined annual purchasing power would amount
to a whopping $150 billion. Furthermore, recent retroactive changes to
German law have naturalized over a million immigrants and automatically
granted its much-coveted citizenship to the 160,000 Muslims born in
Germany every year .
Between 2-3 million Muslims in France - half their number - are
eligible to vote. Another million - one out of two - cast ballots in
Britain. These numbers count at the polls and are not offset by the
concerted efforts of a potent Jewish lobby - there are barely a million
Jews in Western Europe.
Muslims are becoming a well-courted swing vote. They may have decided
the last election in Germany, for instance. Recognizing their growing
centrality, France established - though not without vote-rigging - a
French Council of the Islamic Faith, the equivalent of Napoleon's
Jewish Consistory. Two French cabinet members are Muslims. Britain has
a Muslim Council.
Both Vladimir Putin, Russia's president and Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow's
mayor, now take the trouble to greet the capital's one million Muslims
on the occasion of their Feast of Sacrifice. They also actively solicit
the votes of the nationalist and elitist Muslims of the industrialized
Volga - mainly the Tatars, Bashkirs and Chuvash. Even the impoverished,
much-detested and powerless Muslims of the northern Caucasus -
Chechens, Circassians and Dagestanis - have benefited from this
newfound awareness of their electoral power.
Though divided by their common creed - Shiites vs. Sunnites vs.
Wahabbites and so on - the Muslims of Europe are united in supporting
the Palestinian cause and in opposing the Iraq war. This - and
post-colonial guilt feelings, especially manifest in France and Britain
- go a long way toward explaining Germany's re-discovered pacifistic
spine and France's anti-Israeli (not to say anti-Semitic) tilt.
Moreover, the Muslims have been playing an important economic role in
the continent since the early 1960s. Europe's postwar miracle was
founded on these cheap, plentiful and oft-replenished Gastarbiter -
"guest workers". Objective studies have consistently shown that
immigrants contribute more to their host economies - as consumers,
investors and workers - than they ever claw back in social services and
public goods. This is especially true in Europe, where an ageing
population of early retirees has been relying on the uninterrupted flow
of pension contributions by younger laborers, many of them immigrants.
Business has been paying attention to this emerging market. British
financial intermediaries - such as the West Bromwich Building Society -
have recently introduced "Islamic" (interest-free) mortgages. According
to market research firm, Datamonitor, gross advances in the UK alone
could reach $7 billion in 2006 - up from $60 million today. The Bank of
England is in the throes of preparing regulations to accommodate the
pent-up demand.
Yet, their very integration, however hesitant and gradual, renders the
Muslims in Europe vulnerable to the kind of treatment the old continent
meted out to its Jews before the holocaust. Growing Muslim presence in
stagnating job markets within recessionary economies inevitably
generated a backlash, often cloaked in terms of Samuel Huntington's
1993 essay in Foreign Affairs, "Clash of Civilizations".
Even tolerant Italy was affected. Last year, the Bologna archbishop,
Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, cast Islam as incompatible with Italian
culture. The country's prime minister suggested, in a visit to Berlin
two years ago, that Islam is an inherently inferior civilization.
Oriana Fallaci, a prominent journalist, published last year an inane
and foul-mouthed diatribe titled "The Rage and the Pride" in which she
accused Muslims of "breeding like rats", "shitting and pissing" (sic!)
everywhere and supporting Osama bin-Laden indiscriminately.
Young Muslims reacted - by further radicalizing and by refusing to
assimilate - to both escalating anti-Islamic rhetoric in Europe and the
"triumphs" of Islam elsewhere, such as the revolution in Iran in 1979.
Tutored by preachers trained in the most militant Islamist climates in
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Iran, praying in mosques
financed by shady Islamic charities - these youngsters are amenable to
recruiters from every fanatical grouping.
The United Kingdom suffered some of the worst race riots in half a
century in the past two years. France is terrorized by an unprecedented
crime wave emanating from the banlieux - the decrepit, predominantly
Muslim, housing estates in suburbia. September 11 only accelerated the
inevitable conflict between an alienated minority and hostile
authorities throughout the continent. Recent changes in European -
notably British - legislation openly profile and target Muslims.
This is a remarkable turnaround. Europe supported the Muslim Bosnian
cause against the Serbs, Islamic Chechnya against Russia, the
Palestinians against the Israelis and Muslim Albanian insurgents
against both Serbs and Macedonians. Nor was this consistent pro-Islamic
orientation a novelty.
Britain's Commission for Racial Equality which caters mainly to the
needs of Muslims, was formed 37 years ago. Its Foreign Office has never
wavered from its pro-Arab bias. Germany established a Central Council
for Muslims. Both anti-Americanism and the more veteran anti-Israeli
streak helped sustain Europe's empathy with Muslim refugees and
"freedom fighters" throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
September 11 put paid to this amity. The danger is that the brand of
"Euro-Islam" that has begun to emerge lately may be decimated by this
pervasive and sudden mistrust. Time Magazine described this blend as
"the traditional Koran-based religion with its prohibitions against
alcohol and interest-bearing loans now indelibly marked by the
'Western' values of tolerance, democracy and civil liberties."
Such "enlightened" Muslims can serve as an invaluable bridge between
Europe and Russia, the Middle East, Asia, including China and other
places with massive Muslim majorities or minorities. As most world
conflicts today involve Islamist militants, global peace and a
functioning "new order" critically depend on the goodwill and
communication skills of Muslims.
Such a benign amalgam is the only realistic hope for reconciliation.
Europe is ageing and stagnating and can be reinvigorated only by
embracing youthful, dynamic, driven immigrants, most of whom are bound
to be Muslim. Co-existence is possible and the clash of civilization
not an inevitability unless Huntington's dystopic vision becomes the
basic policy document of the West.
T H E A U T H O R
SHMUEL (SAM) VAKNIN
Curriculum Vitae
Click on blue text to access relevant web sites - thank you.
Born in 1961 in Qiryat-Yam, Israel.
Served in the Israeli Defence Force (1979-1982) in training and
education units.
Education
Graduated a few semesters in the Technion - Israel Institute of
Technology, Haifa.
Ph.D. in Philosophy (major : Philosophy of Physics) - Pacific Western
University, California.
Graduate of numerous courses in Finance Theory and International
Trading.
Certified E-Commerce Concepts Analyst.
Certified in Psychological Counselling Techniques.
Full proficiency in Hebrew and in English.
Business Experience
1980 to 1983
Founder and co-owner of a chain of computerized information kiosks in
Tel-Aviv, Israel.
1982 to 1985
Senior positions with the Nessim D. Gaon Group of Companies in Geneva,
Paris and New-York (NOGA and APROFIM SA):
- Chief Analyst of Edible Commodities in the Group's Headquarters in
Switzerland.
- Manager of the Research and Analysis Division
- Manager of the Data Processing Division
- Project Manager of The Nigerian Computerized Census
- Vice President in charge of RND and Advanced Technologies
- Vice President in charge of Sovereign Debt Financing
1985 to 1986
Represented Canadian Venture Capital Funds in Israel.
1986 to 1987
General Manager of IPE Ltd. in London. The firm financed international
multi-lateral countertrade and leasing transactions.
1988 to 1990
Co-founder and Director of "Mikbats - Tesuah", a portfolio management
firm based in Tel-Aviv.
Activities included large-scale portfolio management, underwriting,
forex trading and general financial advisory services.
1990 to Present
Free-lance consultant to many of Israel's Blue-Chip firms, mainly on
issues related to the capital markets in Israel, Canada, the UK and the
USA.
Consultant to foreign RND ventures and to Governments on macro-economic
matters.
President of the Israel chapter of the Professors World Peace Academy
(PWPA) and (briefly) Israel representative of the "Washington Times".
1993 to 1994
Co-owner and Director of many business enterprises:
- The Omega and Energy Air-Conditioning Concern
- AVP Financial Consultants
- Handiman Legal Services
Total annual turnover of the group: 10 million USD.
Co-owner, Director and Finance Manager of COSTI Ltd. - Israel's
largest computerized information vendor and developer. Raised funds
through a series of private placements locally, in the USA, Canada and
London.
1993 to 1996
Publisher and Editor of a Capital Markets Newsletter distributed by
subscription only to dozens of subscribers countrywide.
In a legal precedent in 1995 - studied in business schools and law
faculties across Israel - was tried for his role in an attempted
takeover of Israel's Agriculture Bank.
Was interned in the State School of Prison Wardens.
Managed the Central School Library, wrote, published and lectured on
various occasions.
Managed the Internet and International News Department of an Israeli
mass media group, "Ha-Tikshoret and Namer".
Assistant in the Law Faculty in Tel-Aviv University (to Prof. S.G.
Shoham).
1996 to 1999
Financial consultant to leading businesses in Macedonia, Russia and the
Czech Republic.
Collaborated with the Agency of Transformation of Business with Social
Capital.
Economic commentator in "Nova Makedonija", "Dnevnik", "Izvestia",
"Argumenti i Fakti", "The Middle East Times", "Makedonija Denes", "The
New Presence", "Central Europe Review" , and other periodicals and in
the economic programs on various channels of Macedonian Television.
Chief Lecturer in courses organized by the Agency of Transformation, by
the Macedonian Stock Exchange and by the Ministry of Trade.
1999 to 2002
Economic Advisor to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and to
the Ministry of Finance.
2001 to present
Senior Business Correspondent for United Press International (UPI)
Web and Journalistic Activities
Author of extensive Websites in Psychology ("Malignant Self Love") - An
Open Directory Cool Site
Philosophy ("Philosophical Musings")
Economics and Geopolitics ("World in Conflict and Transition")
Owner of the Narcissistic Abuse Announcement and Study List and the
Narcissism Revisited mailing list (more than 3900 members)
Owner of the Economies in Conflict and Transition Study list.
Editor of mental health disorders and Central and Eastern Europe
categories in web directories (Open Directory, Suite 101, Search
Europe).
Columnist and commentator in "The New Presence", United Press
International (UPI), InternetContent, eBookWeb and "Central Europe
Review".
Publications and Awards
"Managing Investment Portfolios in states of Uncertainty", Limon
Publishers, Tel-Aviv, 1988
"The Gambling Industry", Limon Publishers., Tel-Aviv, 1990
"Requesting my Loved One - Short Stories", Yedioth Aharonot, Tel-Aviv,
1997
"The Macedonian Economy at a Crossroads - On the way to a Healthier
Economy" (with Nikola Gruevski), Skopje, 1998
"Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited", Narcissus Publications,
Prague and Skopje, 1999, 2001, 2002
The Narcissism Series - e-books regarding relationships with abusive
narcissists (Skopje, 1999-2002)
"The Exporters' Pocketbook", Ministry of Trade, Republic of Macedonia,
Skopje, 1999
"The Suffering of Being Kafka" (electronic book of Hebrew Short
Fiction, Prague, 1998)
"After the Rain - How the West Lost the East", Narcissus Publications
in association with Central Europe Review/CEENMI, Prague and Skopje,
2000
Winner of numerous awards, among them the Israeli Education Ministry
Prize (Literature) 1997, The Rotary Club Award for Social Studies
(1976) and the Bilateral Relations Studies Award of the American
Embassy in Israel (1978).
Hundreds of professional articles in all fields of finances and the
economy and numerous articles dealing with geopolitical and political
economic issues published in both print and web periodicals in many
countries.
Many appearances in the electronic media on subjects in philosophy and
the Sciences and concerning economic matters.
Contact Details:
palma@unet.com.mk
vaknin@link.com.mk
My Web Sites:
Economy / Politics:
http://ceeandbalkan.tripod.com/
Psychology:
http://samvak.tripod.com/index.html
Philosophy:
http://philosophos.tripod.com/
Poetry:
http://samvak.tripod.com/contents.html
After the Rain
How the West
Lost the East
The Book
This is a series of articles written and published in 1996-2000 in
Macedonia, in Russia, in Egypt and in the Czech Republic.
How the West lost the East. The economics, the politics, the
geopolitics, the conspiracies, the corruption, the old and the new, the
plough and the internet - it is all here, in colourful and provocative
prose.
From "The Mind of Darkness":
"'The Balkans' - I say - 'is the unconscious of the world'. People stop
to digest this metaphor and then they nod enthusiastically. It is here
that the repressed memories of history, its traumas and fears and
images reside. It is here that the psychodynamics of humanity - the
tectonic clash between Rome and Byzantium, West and East,
Judeo-Christianity and Islam - is still easily discernible. We are
seated at a New Year's dining table, loaded with a roasted pig and
exotic salads. I, the Jew, only half foreign to this cradle of
Slavonics. Four Serbs, five Macedonians. It is in the Balkans that all
ethnic distinctions fail and it is here that they prevail
anachronistically and atavistically. Contradiction and change the only
two fixtures of this tormented region. The women of the Balkan - buried
under provocative mask-like make up, retro hairstyles and too narrow
dresses. The men, clad in sepia colours, old fashioned suits and turn
of the century moustaches. In the background there is the crying game
that is Balkanian music: liturgy and folk and elegy combined. The
smells are heavy with muskular perfumes. It is like time travel. It is
like revisiting one's childhood."
The Author
Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited
and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for
Central Europe Review and eBookWeb , a United Press International (UPI)
Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and
Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101 .
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of
Macedonia.
Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com