From this dispatch by David Plotz, in Slate (links courtesy of sugarhigh):
I will be curious to see how Britain reacts to Islamic terrorism here. Britons have been relatively welcoming to Asian immigrants—the Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities here are huge and old—but if the attacks turn out to be homegrown, there may be a backlash. This is a much more Islamic nation than the United States. Many British Muslims here belong to distinct, unassimilated communities. As an American, I find aspects of that unsettling: There are lots of women clad in burqas and lots of men with long beards and skullcaps. (I don't think I have ever seen men outfitted like that in the United States—I suspect the post-9/11 American suspicion—who's that jihadist and what's he doing at my shopping mall?—discourages even devout American Muslims from adopting such a look.)
Posted by jane at July 7, 2005 02:29 PM | TrackBack