The Joys of Diversity & Cultural Enrichment (X)

Which Western country is getting the most out of its immigration policy? Today's contenders are Britain, Switzerland and Belgium.

1) Britain

A policeman was jailed last month for fraudulently claiming more than £77,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Aquil Egbewo, 34, was hired by Leicestershire Police under a diversity scheme in 2001. His wife, Zaeba Akhtar, continued claiming a variety of benefits on behalf of herself, Egbewo and their child - he knew about this and signed the forms.

They got away with it for six years until October 2007, when the fraud was discovered and Egbewo suspended after analysis of his handwriting proved he had signed the forms and was aware of the false claims all along.

Egbewo received eight months in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of dishonesty. His wife failed to attend court - a warrant was issued for her arrest, but it is believed she has fled to her native Pakistan.

Legal action will be taken to recover the money.

2) Switzerland

About fifteen students of the Ecole de commerce André-Chavanne in Geneva were wearing their gym kits and running on their school's field track. Nothing unusual about that.

However, the Grand-Saconnex Mosque is very close by. The students were running during the Muslims' hour of prayer, and were spotted as worshippers left the mosque.

This led to cries of "You dirty Whites! Have you no shame?" The girls were insulted, derided, ogled and even photographed by mobile phone.

From Le Matin:

On Friday April 3rd, in the early afternoon, the students, about 15 years old, were exercising on the course. A dozen people leaving prayer, found themselves facing them. To return to where they parked they took a shortcut, a newly opened rod which leads to the sports field.Instead of avoiding passing the track, the men, young and less young, walked right through. They disrupted the race, going through the plastic cones arranged for the exercise. They insulted the students, roughly put them down, took a picture, and blamed them for their shamelessness before leaving.

Shocked, the young gym teacher who trained them notified the school. On April 6th the principal, Roland Jeannet, alerted his superiors and sent a letter to the mosque administration asking them to speak in the next meeting of the mosque and to encourage their believers to more respect.

A meeting was set up between the police, the school and the Imam. The latter said he was upset and did not want the Swiss to believe that these men represented all Muslims. He dedicated a sermon to denouncing the men who had behaved so badly.

The Islamic Cultural Foundation said that the men should set an example in this context, because Muslims were often blamed for such actions (because they commit them, generally, but I think that's Arabic for 'sorry', or at least as good as it gets).

The ICF said there had been no previously problems between the mosque and the school. However:

One of the teachers says that they're sometimes a little uncomfortable when parking in the area, where hundreds of men come to prayer. A female student at the school says that the girls who run get insistent looks at their chests.

3) Belgium

In April, a 41 year old Moroccan man was shot dead in the Brussels suburb of Scharbeek after attacking two police officers with a knife.

A police patrol stopped by the man, thinking he needed help. Two agents stepped out, at which the man threatened them. They tried to calm him down, but did not succeed. The man took out a knife and injured an agent in the arm, after which he threatened the other agent, who took out his weapon and fired two shots.

The man was hit in the chest and arm and died at the scene.

The next day, a VTM camera crew were filming 'general images' at the scene. An immigrant youth on a scooter thought they were there to film traffic violation, so he started to threaten the journalists.

A large group of immigrant youths gathered and the first youth repeatedly punched the cameraman in the face before stealing the diskette.

A few weeks previously, a Turkish man was shot dead by the police after attacking two officers with a knife in the Belgian city of Ghent.

For more information on Islam and immigration and Belgium, see this Fox News report from Brussels:


With thanks to Esther from Islam in Europe who originally translated all material in sections 2 and 3.