Press Release
Crime Stems from the Western Lifestyle and Integration is a Major Factor in its Spread

On the evening of Thursday, September 28, the Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, gave a speech to the nation about the violence that has ravaged the country, saying that "it is an irresponsible immigration policy and failed integration that has brought us here". The Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, also said in an interview with Dagens Industri published on September 28 that migration and poor integration are the main reasons for the wave of violence in Sweden.

Both the Minister of State and the Minister of Justice claim that crime comes from migration, when the definitive truth is that organized crime and gang formation has not occurred among the first generation of Muslim immigrants, who carry with them the remnants of Islamic values, even though this first generation arrived in foreign lands carrying with them worries, concerns and fears in addition to coming from war-torn areas such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Somalia. When we see the proliferation of organized crime among second generation immigrants who have grown up in Western society, in Western institutions, saturated with Western values and attracted by Western role models, it means that the problem is linked to Western culture.

Shootings in open streets, the struggle for influence in neighborhoods, violence, murder and drug trafficking are an inherent phenomenon and characteristic of many Western cities and it is a result of the ideals of secular freedoms; such as utilitarianism and the notion of happiness. The ideals and practices that are dominant in the gang environment express the culture of Western societies, which is that of material benefit that is empty of spiritual, moral and human values. The ideals of Western freedoms build the mentality of youth on the basis of being free and striving to achieve material success. It is clear that Western culture and the Western values represented in freedoms, personal benefit and self-realization are linked to the Western notion of happiness that is limited to material pleasures. The mindset of these criminal gang members is the same utility-based mindset of the capitalists who compete in the trade market and of Western politicians who pursue policies based on 'the end justifies the means'.

The real cause of criminality is the exclusionary nature of Western culture that results in racism, discrimination and alienation that leaves these young people outside the gates of society without a sense of belonging which drives them to find belonging in criminal circles.

Apart from the discrimination policy, which contributes to crime, there is another factor for which the politicians are responsible for and that is the integration policy which has sought to assimilate the Muslims with the Western values and keep them away from the pure understanding of Islam, this understanding which gives immunity and protects the Muslims from the pre-Islamic (jahilia) life in the midst of organized gang crime. The integration policies adopted by these politicians, which they consider a cure and a solution for the conflict between gangs, are actually a major cause of the emergence of organized crime among Muslim youth. Integration has separated young people from their Islamic identity so that Islam no longer influences their actions and their lives are instead directed according to the utilitarian values of the West.

The only solution to organized gang crime is more of the Islamic culture and values and less of the corrupt Western values of freedom and destructive expediency. Therefore, Muslims must protect themselves with Islam from the aggressive assimilation policies and destructive lifestyles of the West by strengthening their Islamic identity. Islam not only solves the world's societal problems, but the Islamic way of life also provides a solution to organized crime by giving man a meaning and tying his behavior to accountability on the Day of Judgment.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Sweden