In late September, the BBC reported
that over 3,000 European nationals have traveled to the Middle East to fight
alongside militant Islamists in Iraq and Syria. In Great Briton, more citizens,
as many as 500, have left to fight with ISIS than have volunteered for the army
reserves. ISIS is not even the first time western citizens took up arms against
their own countries, it also happened during both wars in Iraq. As Caldwell
mentioned, Islam is globalized, radicalizing, and building solidarity of
Muslims in a dangerous way. I will look at the issue of duel loyalty, how it is
impacting the current situation in Europe, and how the biblical claims about
serving two masters compares with loyalty to nation states.
In
2010, German chancellor Angela Merkel declared that multiculturalism had failed
in Germany. Integration was the only way to deal with the social issues caused
by the introduction of foreign populations into the heart of Europe. Foreigners
in Europe usually have a more difficult time finding jobs. In Germany, 23% of
the unemployed are Turks and many young people live in isolated ethnic
communities, making it more difficult to acquire desirable skills or even basic
knowledge of the national language. Only 14% of young Muslims graduate from the
advanced secondary school and 30% of all Muslim students fail to graduate at
all in Germany. This graph shows that
unemployment is a great concern for Muslims in Europe.
The
feeling that their host countries are discriminating against them, whether in
reality or only from their perspective, causes resentment among immigrant
populations. The civic virtues that help a society function become lost and
committing crimes against fellow citizens becomes less morally objectionable. After
all, the natives are stealing from the foreigners anyway, right? This leads to
a vicious cycle of increased resentment on both sides. A lack of integration
makes it easier for people to lay collective blame on entire segments of the
population. Social tensions in a society can be an encouragement to crime,
increased prejudices and a threat to national security. Volunteers fighting for
ISIS will one day return home, where they can radicalize, indoctrinate, and
even carry out violent acts. 
Turkish
leader Erdogan, in what almost seemed to be a direct counter to Merkel’s call
for deeper integration, encouraged Turks living in Germany to maintain their
cultural identity and loyalty to Turkey. Erdogan made a speech, saying things
like:
"They call you guest workers,
foreigners, or German Turks. It doesn't matter what they all call you: You are
my fellow citizens, you are my people, you are my friends, you are my brothers
and sisters!"
"You are part of Germany, but
you are also part our great Turkey,"
"Yes, integrate yourselves into German society but
don't assimilate yourselves. No one has the right to deprive us of our culture
and our identity."
When a Turkish official in Austria
blamed the Austrians for the apparent failure of immigrant integration,
Austrian politician and member of the European Parliament attacked the
hypocrisy of “romantic tolerance.” ((Video Link)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThQ61K04Sbo
The primacy of God
above all created things is a core tenant of scripture. The idea of being loyal
to the creator over the creation is embodied in the statement from Luke that, “No
one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or
you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God
and money.” I would argue that the same logic applies to one’s national
loyalty. If one claims allegiance to two different states, the time will
inevitably come when one must be chosen over the other.
The same is also
true for the cognitive dissonance of holding conflicting moral or legal
principles. Progressive European governments and social justice warriors, in my
view, are in a difficult position when it comes to dealing with the uglier side
of Islam and racism. Europe allows immigrants to benefit from their societies,
but can’t make them adopt western values. Progressives seek to increase liberty
for all, but pass laws limiting hate speech and public expressions they deem
politically incorrect. They built great welfare systems, but now austerity
measures are becoming more likely. Holding contradictory principles or
maintaining duel loyalties causes one to be, as in James, “like a wave of the
sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive
anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and
unstable in all they do.”
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