“Alabama Woman” Joins ISIS

James Kirkpatrick
VDARE
April 21, 2015

One of the arguments made by Beltway Right types is that immigration isn’t the problem, it’s just leftist multiculturalism that tells people not to “assimilate.”  The idea is that if we have a conservative culture that promotes patriotism and a strong sense of identity, “hyphenated Americans” will abandon their previous allegiances and become Americans like everyone else.

Well so much for that idea.

A spokesman for a Muslim couple in Alabama said Monday their 20-year-old daughter fled a Birmingham suburb to join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Syria after being recruited via the Internet.

Hassan Shibly spoke at a mosque on behalf of the parents of the young woman, whom he identified only as Hoda. He said the family has been “extremely traumatized” for months and has been in contact with law enforcement and government officials since she disappeared while also pleading with Hoda to return home…

There have been other reports of young people leaving or attempting to leave the U.S. for the Islamic State in recent months. In a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday, six Minnesota men were charged with terrorism-related offenses after authorities said they failed in attempts to travel to Syria.

Shibly said he’s talked with families who have also lost their children to the Islamic State group have similar stories.

“It’s often young, naive, impressionable, ignorant troubled youth who are dissatisfied with their life and are seeking a sense of belonging,” he said.

[Desperate Alabama family: Woman, 20, left to join ISIS, CBS News, April 21, 2015]

Of course, the reason “Alabama families” and “Minnesota men” are looking for identity is because it is often the generation that is born in America that is most resentful towards the West.  While those “coming for a better life” at least know they are materially better off, their children are deracinated and cast adrift in a culture that is not their own.  If they are told to assimilate, that breeds resentment.  If they are told to stay separate and preserve their own culture, that makes things even worse.

The obvious question – why are we inviting these problems?  What do we gain?