Dear Raymonde,
Raynote wrote:
> This morning I was asking myself this question about the millions
> of muslims that live in Europe and particularly in France: what
> side will they be on in the Clash of Civilizations world war
> that's coming? Be they Africans, North-Africans or Turks... Any
> idea or theory?
Generally speaking, nationalism almost always trumps class, race
and religion in a generational crisis war with an external enemy.
Thus, America's Germans sided with the Americans during WW II. The
Japanese were interred, but they were still almost always loyal to
America.
Iraqi Sunnis and Shias united to fight against Iran during the
Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s.
Catholics throughout Europe supported the Spanish Armada attack in
1588 against the hated Protestant Queen Elizabeth. But the Catholics
of England supported the Queen, and a Catholic nobleman led the
English defense against the Armada.
If you have, say, people who migrated to France from Algeria decades
ago, who now have children and perhaps grandchildren, and even suppose
that those kids are protesting in the banlieues against the
government. That doesn't mean that when there's an external war, they
won't side with France. To the contrary, they'll want to preserve
what they have. They may consider their life in France as not always
ideal, but it's stable, and it's better than any alternative.
Remember that they could have gone back to Algeria at any time, but
they didn't because they like where they're living now.