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Multiculturalism pushed too far,

BBC Radio 4 Audio 

25 June 2007

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The Dutch government’s commitment to multiculturalism has been exceptional. It has funded separate schools, housing projects, broadcast media and community organizations for Muslim immigrants, all under the umbrella of multiculturalism. But the reality of terrorism and radicalization of Muslim immigrants has shattered that dream.

In 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was brutally murdered on a busy Amsterdam street. His killer was a young Dutch Moroccan offended by a controversial film about Muslim suppression of women. In his new book, When Ways of Life Collide, PAUL SNIDERMAN argues that if you make the difference between one group and another the focal point of public policy, you increase the sense that each feels different from the other. He says that the Dutch emphasis on multiculturalism has encouraged exclusion rather than inclusion and politicians have misunderstood the very nature of a liberal society.