Pakistanis and Somalis here - Moroccans there. Holland.

How long before this sort of stuff starts happening here?

A failure of the community

Cultural enrichment takes many diverse and sometime unexpected forms. In the Netherlands this week, there was an uproar about what seems to be the latest trend in cultural enrichment (NL), disrupting funeral processions:

In Amersfoort yet again a funeral procession was disrupted by youth. Students of the [islamic] primary school Bilal flipped their middle-finger and were seen cheering as a procession of mourners drove by.

The head of the school told RTV Utrecht he will speak to the children about their behavior. Additionally he would like to introduce the bereaved to the children, to make them realize what they have done.

The bland reporting by RTV Utrecht not withstanding, it became clear quite quickly the 'youth' involved were Moroccan children, reported to be between 9 and 11 years old.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened either. Back in the end of May, a funeral procession was similarly harassed by Moroccan 'youth', circling the procession on their bike, cheering and shouting 'Jews, Jews, Jews'. In an item on Dutch TV (NL) CEO of the funeral organisation UVZ relates the incident during the funeral of a 17 year old girls. At the start of the procession, the lead car is approached by young Moroccans wanting to know if the occupant of the coffin is a muslim. After hearing the negative answer, they proceed thumping and kicking the funeral limousine, saying 'Good, one less dog'.

That this has happened, is happening, that such is being done by Moroccan children as young as 9 to 11 even, is enough to descend into a blood-thirsty rage by itself. But this isn't the most infuriating aspect of the story. That distinction goes to the combined attempts by director and staff of the Bilal school and the MSM to downplay the incident and refocus the issue.

In the wake of the incident the school received hundreds of angry emails, some of which were of a threatening nature. This gave the school and the Dutch MSM the opportunity to focus on the fact that the a primary school needs extra police protection (NL). Because, according to the director of the Bilal school, in a crisis like this a primary school is very vulnerable. In De Telegraaf (NL; pdf) the director directs attention to the disquiet among parents of the schools students over the indignant reactions this news has provoked. The teachers also are 'irritated' with the commotion the news has caused. Thus, the angle played up big in the MSM is not the disrespectful, uncivilized and frankly depraved behaviour of the Moroccan children. Following the Dutch MSM, one would be forgiven the impression that the main problem is the reactions this news has provoked in Dutch society.

One of those involved is quoted as saying that the boys involved cannot be blamed for their behaviour since 'an eleven year old does not have the moral awareness'. Really? That is your explanation? That is the excuse? Geenstijl asks (NL), quite rightly: "How many times did you harass a funeral procession when you were 11? Did you also flip of random bereaved as an 11-year-old? And the 64,000 dollar question: Did you have sufficient moral awareness about death and mourning to be held responsible for offensive behaviour?"

This news raises (yet again) some uncomfortable questions about the Moroccan community and its place within our borders. That these children do not understand, even at the age of 9, that death comes to us all and that the death of a loved one is a period of momentous grief and loss that should be treated with the respect and dignity it deserves, points to a monumental failure, not just of the parents involved, but of the entire community, including the director and staff of the Bilal school. This is illustrated by the irritation of the school staff and even some of the parents quoted in De Telegraaf with the 'overblown reaction' of the civilized, non-Moroccan portion of the Dutch populace, who are 'making a mountain out of an mole hill'.

There is no sign whatsoever of the realization that this incident is way, WAY beyond mere mischief and exuberant boy-ish naughtiness. Thus it is not just the children and the parents that must be held accountable. The entire Moroccan community has failed to inculcate even the most basic respect and civility in their youngsters. It is the entire Moroccan community that is responsible for this incident. And it is time the Moroccan community in the Netherlands start to realize they are fast outstaying their welcome.