President Barack Obama has warned Europe against overreliance on hammer-only approach to dealing with radicalization of its Muslim populations, and asked France and other nations to assimilate Muslims into the mainstream society.
Amid a series of strict new clampdown moves on Muslim dissent and reactionary isolation of Muslims in some European countries – following French-born Muslims’ massacre of 12 journalists of controversial French publication Charlie Hebdo – Obama cited the successful example of Muslim integration into the American society.
American Muslims feel themselves to be Americans, the US president stated in a joint Press appearance with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Obama urged Europeans to give their immigrant populations a sense of opportunity, as European societies faced probing questions in several American and Islamic world media in the wake of alienation of their Muslim populations.
“Our biggest advantage is that our Muslim populations, they feel themselves to be Americans. And there is this incredible process of immigration and assimilation that is part of our tradition that is probably our greatest strength,” the US president noted.
Though America has also been subject to some terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon, the integration of Muslims “has been helpful,” Obama said.
“There are parts of Europe in which that’s not the case, and that’s probably the greatest danger that Europe faces,” Obama remarked.
Underlining his point, Obama said: “It’s important for Europe not to simply respond with a hammer and law enforcement and military approaches to these problems, but there also has to be a recognition that the stronger the ties of a North African — or a Frenchman of North African descent to French values, French Republic, a sense of opportunity — that’s going to be as important, if not more important, in overtime solving this problem. And I think there’s a recognition of that across Europe, and it’s important that we don’t lose that.”
