Anti-immigration mobs are shaking the UK. I am currently reading two books, “The Suicide of the West” (Douglas Murray, Toyo Keizai Shinposha) and “The Virtues of Nationalism” (Yoram Hazony, Toyo Keizai Shinposha), both of which cast strong doubts on Western-style liberalism. The common underlying theme of both books is the issue of immigration. If liberalism goes too far, politicians, citizens, and the media will no longer be able to touch on the issue of immigration. This is because, no matter how problematic the issue may be, the moment they touch on it, they will be labeled as “racists” and purged. In the past few decades, many politicians, commentators, and journalists in the West have sounded the alarm about the immigration issue, only to be stigmatized and turned into the dregs of society. And the immigration issue has become an open taboo. In the West, there have been countless arguments in defense of immigration, such as “immigration is necessary for economic growth,” “ageing societies need the power of young immigrants,” “cultural diversity is important,” and “immigration cannot be stopped in the global era.” However, none of these arguments are convincing and are more like sophistry from politicians who are no longer able to deal with the immigration problem. And the lives of the people, especially the common people, have become increasingly exhausted. The tide turned in 2015, when German Chancellor Merkel acknowledged the failure of “multiculturalism.” Both “The Suicide of the West” and “The Virtues of Nationalism” would have been scorned as ridiculous books written by racists in the past, but both have become bestsellers.
Regardless of whether multiculturalism has failed or not, there has been a recent trend toward “multi-religionism.” I am not an expert on religion, but for example, can Christianity and Islam coexist? In any case, immigration and religion will become linked in the future, and the immigration problem will become even more serious. Although fact and fiction are mixed, it is said that the origins of the British mob violence were kidnappings and murders linked to Islamic values. (Kitajima Kei)

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