LL-L "Culture" 2011.06.18 (01) [EN-NL]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 18 June 2011 - Volume 01
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From: Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc. roger.thijs at euro-support.be
Subject: LL-L Cultural

We live in a world in movement. Migration, whether legal or not, is changing
social patterns. In the Brussels municipality of Molenbeek most inhabitants
are migrants of the last few decades. Many came from Morocco. There is a lot
of social pressure on us, Belgian aboriginals, to adjust to the new culture.
A union of policemen complains that in Molenbeek police officers are no
longer allowed to eat, smoke and issue fines during daylight in the ramadan
period. Although this is officially denied, the pressure is apparently real.
cf.
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Belgie/article/detail/1280367/2011/06/18/Molenbeekse-agenten-moeten-meedoen-aan-ramadan.dhtml
*"Molenbeekse agenten moeten meedoen aan ramadan"*
*De politieagenten in Molenbeek moeten meedoen met de ramadan. Ze mogen niet
eten of drinken overdag, en niet verbaliseren. Dat zeggen interne
politiebronnen aan de krant Het Laatste Nieuws en het wordt bevestigd door
politievakbond NSPV. Een woordvoerster van de gemeente ontkent dit. *
*Bart Velle, verantwoordelijke bij de neutrale politievakbond NSPV voor de
Brusselse gemeenten, zegt dat hij al meerdere klachten in die zin heeft
gekregen, en dat al enkele jaren op rij. Over de vraag om niet te
verbaliseren of niet te eten of drinken, bestaat evenwel geen officiële
nota. "Ik krijg klachten van collega's daarover, en ik geloof die mensen.
Maar er staat niets op papier. Ik heb geen bewijzen", aldus Velle.*

While that pressure is subtle, some minority groups are promoting change
more openly, as e.g. “Sharia for Belgium”:
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Belgie/article/detail/1241196/2011/03/25/Sharia4Belgium-ziet-De-Crem-liever-dood-dan-levend.dhtml
*Sharia4Belgium ziet De Crem liever dood dan levend*
*De fundamentalistische moslimorganisatie Sharia4Belgium loopt niet hoog op
met de oorlog in Libië. Hoewel hij zelf geen goed woord over heeft voor
Kadhafi, wenst Abou Imran, "alle ongelovige kruisvaders de meest
verschrikkelijke ziektes toe." Ook minister van Defensie Pieter De Crem
(CD&V) ziet hij liever dood dan levend.*

This all has to be combined with the fact that the Roman Catholic Church,
the leading religious authority over here till the beginning of the sixties,
is slowly fading out, leaving most of the Belgian aboriginals factual
without any church practice (except for weddings – because of the nice
pictures – and for funerals). Actually there are virtually no missionaries
left to preach an alternative to preachers of other faiths.
We have no radical christians, as there exist for other religions elsewhere,
as e.g. compare with the rabbinal condamnation of a dog:
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/959/Bizar/article/detail/1280228/2011/06/17/Joodse-rechtbank-veroordeelt-zwerfhond-tot-steniging.dhtml
*Een ultraorthodoxe rabbijnse rechtbank heeft onlangs een zwerfhond tot de
doodstraf door steniging veroordeeld omdat hij de reïncarnatie zou zijn van
een seculiere advocaat die 20 jaar geleden de religieuze rechters heeft
beledigd, zo heeft de website ynetnews vandaag gemeld. *
**
I remember a book, that was very popular in the mid sixties *“The secular
city” by Harvey Cox*, describing secularization replacing religious
practices. I think this is true for the Roman Catholic Church in Europe.
Maybe not in the US, in despite of the scandals. I attended a RC sunday mass
on Naamans Road in Wilmington DE a couple of months ago, and I counted 500+
attendants (and there were 3 Sunday masses that very day). I guess religion
adherance in the US has much to do with identity.

Further even when seeing this all happening, we all are very reluctant to do
anything about it, since reactions are easily qualified as racistic.
There must be a way though to discuss openly patterns of cultural change.

Regards,
Roger
Christianos ad leones! (Tertullianus, Apologeticum) /  Ἅγνωστος Θεός (Paul,
Acts)

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