Dear Is MIse,

Albania is only 43 per cent Muslim according to
a recent poll. Christianity is the second largest
religion in Albania.
Perhaps you're getting Albania
confused with Alabama. And Albania's Muslim population is
extremely well integrated. As are the Muslims in
Lithuania according to Encyclopedia Lituanica.

Talking about Muslim Communities -
We have some perfect examples in our own country -
for example the descendants of Afghan Cameleers .
And the descendants of Muslims who have
arrived in this country from Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon,
India, Russia, and many African countries.

I also think if you were to go to other countries globally -
you would find that Muslim communities do exist that have
integrated well. Of course fanatics and extremists also exist
every where in every religion. And unfortunately politicians
and the media make full use of people's fears for their own
gains.

Perhaps you need to do more research on the subject - and try
not to buy into all the media hype.
a library would be a good place to start.

For me this discussion has now run its course.

I wish you well - in your endeavour to understand a
globally complex situation.

Foxy,

All the references to Albania that I can find put the Muslim population at above 60%.
What is your ref. for the low figure that you give.

I'm glad that you mention Australia, but integrated isolated families do not make an integrated community and no one could call the Muslim community in Australia integrated.

So I'm still waiting for someone to shew me the integrated Muslim communities of the world.

France, and Great Britain come to mind but they do seem to be having some problems of late.

Is Mise,
Another way of looking at it is to say that individual conduct doesn't cancel out group conduct and vice versa.
It doesn't break my viewpoint to admit that I meet plenty of people who are very different to me who I get along with but at the same time they remain part of a group and will behave in a predictable manner when around their own kin.
I'll give you an example albeit of a very moderate nature.
My wife had a work colleague who was of Chinese background, lovely young girl, she sort of took her under her wing when she started and they were close enough that we'd take her out with us after work and have her around to the house at the weekend, we even bailed her out of a gambling debt once so her parents wouldn't find out.
Her twenty first birthday rolled around and her parents who were a well off couple with a big, luxurious house out at Mt Waverly threw her an extravagant party. When we arrived we were greeted by her Dad and uncles and shown through to a sort of gazebo-deck type area out near the pool where we were told the other "Aussies" had gathered.
What they'd done was set us up apart from the main party with our own waiter, a lamb on a spit and a buffet loaded with all the usual "Aussie" party tucker, a karaoke machine and a bin full of Crown lager on ice.
Great! Bloody luxury, we had good company, free eats and all we could drink, outdoor heaters, comfortable seats and a view of the sunset, all in all a top shely afternoon out.
We got stuck in to the grub got tipsy and had a high old time but none of the hundred or so Chinese people inside came near us and the only interaction came later on when we a few of us nosed our way into the recreation room where a group of younger Chinese had sneaked off to watch the footy on the big projection screen.

There's almost no reporting on these massive rallies in the north of the U.K, this is Nelson in Lancashire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD4mZyEoePo
They're celebrating the prophet's birthday, this is why we call them Mohammedans, followers of Mohammed, a spokesman from the Ghausia Mosque in Nelson described it as a rally to draw the Muslim community together and to spread the word of peace among them.
In our society Christians also marched on Palm Sunday and dedicated the nationwide processions to justice for refugees, to Muslims in other words.

Jay Of Melbourne,

Had a quick look at that video and was struck by the abundance of old men, fearsome old sods from their scowling visages too, but no women.

Where the Christians are concerned it is always a family affair with women more than equally represented.

As well, the Christians are forever porting signs expressing their concern for peace and the wellbeing of others.

Islam seems so concerned with itself. Peace yes, but on its own terms, to put it diplomatically.

OTB,
Bear in mind Nelson only has a population of 29,000 and no Muslim women or girls were allowed to march, only 5,000 men and boys, so the town is over 30% Asian Muslim. Multiculturalism implies a multiplicity of cultures, in Nelson and other such areas such as our own Blacktown we see only two visible cultures where before there were many, Sunni Islam and Christian groups who these days merely act as an auxilliary to Sunni Islam. That's the "peace" Mohammed spoke of, a Muslim dominated society which tolerates other cultures only as long as they fully support and defer to Islamic rule.