The “Eurabia” conspiracy theory claims that leaders in western Europe conspire to increase immigration of Muslims so that Europe can become Arab. The truth is that the situation in the countries of origin is causing people to escape, not an invitation from political leaders in Western Europe.
The “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory is a false belief that Western populations are being systematically “replaced” by immigrants, particularly from non-Western countries, through mass migration and demographic change. This conspiracy theory claims that there is a deliberate plot to diminish or eliminate native or “traditional” Western culture and population, often attributed to global elites or certain religious or ethnic groups.
Immigration can help stimulate economic growth. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that immigration will add $7 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next decade. Research from Cato Institute concludes that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes compared to individuals born in the U.S.
Still mainstream and right wing parties in USA and Europe want to restrict number of refugees and immigrants. More than two million people were expelled under the Biden administration between January 2021 and May 11, 2023.
In reality, there is no quick fix on the complicated questions about border, refugee and immigration politics. It is an area that raises many complicated moral, ethical and legal issues.
- Strict physical border control might set lives in danger As shown in chapter 15, strict control with the land borders of the European Union has not stopped refugees and immigrants. When they are stopped from moving over land, they risk their lives crossing open seas in overcrowded, aging and small boats.
- Obstacles exist in international conventions that are also embedded in national laws. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights state that the right to apply for asylum is a human right.
- Forced deportation of refugees is often not feasible, because returning refugees to countries under dictarorship would endanger their lives.
- Many countries refuse to take their citizens back.
- If refugees and immigrants cannot be returned, can you realistically place hundreds of thousands of people in internment camps?
The reasons why large numbers of people move stem from conditions in their country of origin. War and conflict are the most important reasons why over 100 million people are forcibly displaced people worldwide. Most of them are internally displaced. The 26.3 million refugees worldwide who leave their country are fleeing conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution. 83 % of these are hosted in low and middle-income countries. Most of the refugees now come from war-torn countries like Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
In addition to war and conflict as triggers of mass movement of people, people also move because of the unequal distribution of resources and increasing environmental problems.
Red: Venezuelans displaced abroad. These are mainly housed in Latin American countries.
Black: Asylum seekers worldwide
Light blue: Refugees in the middle east aided by the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Dark blue: refugees under UNHCR mandate. These are people living in their own country or a third country and who are recognised as refugees by the UNHCR.
Green: IDP-internally displaced people who are forced to move within their own country.
The ruling politicians in Western Europe have never initiated immigration with the exception of specialist workers. They do not want immigration from low or middle-income countries. On the contrary, they make it as difficult as possible by strict immigration and refugee politics and by physical control of the Schengen outer borders by Schengen/Frontex.
Alongside stricter asylum politics, refugees are often treated in harsh way. A refugee at a reception centre in Norway receives about 7 Euro per day to buy food and cover other expenses like transportation, clothes, mobile phone etc. Norway is a country with a high cost of living where a loaf of bread costs 5 Euro. The refugees tend confined to a life at their reception centre because of their low income.
The seculatisation of young muslims in Norway
Far from what is claimed in the Eurabia conspiracy theory, there is no sign of “islamisation” of Europe. In my more than ten years working with the integration of refugees in Norway, I have seen that while the older generations try to hold their traditions including religion, the younger generations are more secularised.
Research on the area supports this. The Norwegian Bureau of statistics claim that while 70 % of inhabitants in Pakistan, Turkey and Morocco agreed that the most important about religion was to follow the religious rules and ceremonies, 70 % of immigrants from the same countries living in Norway disagreed. In contrary, immigrants living in Norway said the most important was not following religious rules but to be good to other people. The researchers interpreted this as religion changed from a set of external rules to foremost being an internal moral compass. This is more like the way christian youth in Norway think of it, which also is contrary to what the previous generations might have thought.