Word: osi
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...recent Swiss referendum vote to ban the building of minarets seemed to confirm a trend: Europeans are becoming increasingly strident in their attempts to "protect" their culture against Islam. However, a newly published report by the Open Society Institute (OSI), a think tank set up by billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros, details the complex relationship between Muslims and non-Muslim Europeans and reveals that the suspicion is mutual. Muslims believe they are being shut out of European society...
...Such suspicions have boosted support for far-right politicians like the Netherlands' Geert Wilders, whose Freedom Party won 11% of the Dutch vote in June's European elections with an anti-Islam platform. The OSI report says the chilling political climate has alienated Muslims, often making them feel unwanted. Several European countries are tightening their immigration laws, imposing citizenship tests and setting strict rules on wearing headscarves and burqas. Last week, reacting to the Swiss minaret vote, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on religious practitioners to avoid "ostentation" and "provocation" so as not to upset others...
...Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the OSI report may be the diversity of views within Europe's Muslim populations. The report reveals that most Muslims identify strongly with the city and country where they live. In Antwerp, Belgium, for example, over 90% of respondents expressed a "very strong" or "fairly strong" sense of local belonging...
...citizens than any other European country; for example, it allows Muslim policewomen to cover their hair with a headscarf. And in the Netherlands, controversies like the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist have "convulsed public opinion," making Muslims "scapegoats for public anxieties over security," the OSI report says. (Read "Minaret Ban Challenges Tolerant Swiss Image...
...maybes” have to swing in their direction.Maybe the thunder and lightning running back combo of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw will wear out the experienced but aging linebacker corps of the Patriots.Maybe New York’s fearsome defensive front, led by sack machines Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, will penetrate New England’s imposing offensive line and make life difficult for Brady and the Patriot running attack.Maybe the Giants’ shaky crop of cornerbacks will keep it together for one more game and find a way to stop Randy Moss and rest...