South Asian Muslims in the UK

Salaam,

I do not like to group Muslims into ethnic groups, but I will make an exception here. This is because these Muslims identify themselves as Pakistanis and Bengali. The older generation, from my experience, were trying to achieve a better life in the UK. However, the new generation of Muslims adopted a culture of gang violence and victimhood. Not all Muslims, but some of them.

I believe some similar has occurred in America (Mexicans) and in Germany (Turkish). The youths have adopted some sort of gang culture in order to embrace a new identity.

In the UK particular, I think racism from certain individuals and poverty has left these Muslims to adopt a new form of identity. As a result, this has lead to gangs and violence. Even though there are organisations in the UK that combat racism and provide support for people in poverty, these people ignore the support out there, blame their problems on other people (White in particular) and embraced this victim mentality. By victim mentality, I mean these people claim that the White people have been racist to us and use this as an excuse to justify their behaviour. It is similar behaviour that comes from Zionists. They mistreat the Palestinians and use the Holocaust to justify their unlawful actions.

Overall, I've seen ethnic conflicts as a result of these problems. Police powers have increased as a result of these riots. I think it is possible the government may restrict civil liberties to control these riots and take advantage of the situation.

The purpose of this topic is to discuss why some Muslims in the UK turn to gangs, why they have embraced this victimhood mentality and what will be the consequences if this continues. To make it clear, I'm not saying all Muslims are like this. For members who do not live in the UK, you can use your own experiences based on where you live.

What you have described is typical of racial minorities here in the USA too. Not just the Latinos, but other racial minorities have adopted the "victim" mentality, and blame their problems on "society" (code for "white people"). Here, it's not really a Muslim issue since the Muslim community in the USA is still quite small. But such behavior is sadly typical among minorities from inner city communities.

As a white guy, I once bore the "white man's burden". I felt guilty about being a privileged middle-class white suburnanite, to the point where I hated myself and rejected my racial identity. I tried to become Latino for a while. I spoke only Spanish, and associated with Latinos only. Eventually I learned that it didn't matter how well I could speak Spanish, I couldn't change my skin color. I was always going to be "just a gringo" to most Latinos, and would therefore still be "the enemy".

This is a bigger problem than just myself, though. There are many young white middle-class kids who try to emulate the culture of the ghetto, either because of some sense of shame or some fascination with what they see on television and hear in music regarding gangster culture. This is apparently a UK problem as well, from what I have read (you call them "chavs"; we call them "wiggers" here in the USA).

Media has to share some of the blame here, because of the glorification of the gangster lifestyle in music, movies, and television. Also because they like to point out racial tensions and racial unrest. I believe it is part of a conspiracy to keep the populace divided, and easier to rule.

These days I am aware of my own identity, but I still try to understand and appreciate everyone else's, without trying to become something I am not.

I have seen Pakistani gangs, Bengali, black, white, polish and Chinese gangs. They are all only small numbers of youngsters from their own race