In the current turmoil when millions find themselves threatened and displaced to an extent not seen since the aftermath of World War II, one keeps wondering whether we have lost control completely and we keep asking ourselves: how did we get into this mess?

Asylum seekers keep demanding asylum in a country of their choice as if this was their right. Host countries, on the other hand, insist that they have the right and duty to protect their borders. The result is barbed wire walls to separate not only people but also, one might think, ideologies.

One might have hoped that with the initial magnanimous gesture of Angela Merkel, all other countries would follow suit and keep their borders open, even inviting migrants to come in and become integrated within the host society.

But this whole process has unfortunately turned sour, and international laws, including the prohibition of sending seekers back to where they came from, have been overturned.

Like dancing a tango, integration involves both parties, both the immigrant and the citizens of the host country

Added to this are the shocking disasters that recently befell Paris, Brussels and Nice, where criminals of near-eastern descent wreaked havoc in support of their ideology. It became clear that Europe, and with it Western civilisation, had be­come a target and was being threatened with destruction.

It was tempting to suspect that terrorists would take the opportunity of joining the fleeing crowds to enter Europe to perpetrate their aims. It has been hard to dispel the erroneous idea even though it has been proven wrong over and over again and shown that the worst terrorists are home-grown citizens who were born and bred in European cities, and should have imbibed our ethos, values and culture.

This raises the question as to why integration and multiculturalism have failed so dismally in these situations. Multicul­turalism, which has been so successful in some countries such as Canada and Australia, implies that newcomers are encouraged to integrate while holding on to their own cultures during this process, which often takes years and which is complete only by the second generation. On the other hand, it has failed in Europe, and one is bound to ask why.

Integration implies the ab­sorption of a foreign culture which replaces that of the country into which one had been born. It could be a painful and always a lengthy process.

One expects immigrants to integrate without really appre­ciating that this process is quite a challenging one.

What is also not appreciated is that, like dancing a tango, integration involves both parties, both the immigrant and the citizens of the host country. And it is crucial therefore to ask, to what extent are the host countries and their citizens committed to this process, how far are they prepared to go to ensure a smooth transition from one culture to the other, how open is the society they live in, and how far are they themselves prepared to change?

Integration is not a matter of choice. Where this does not happen the result is the creation of ghettos, which promote and propagate unrest. It often results in a grossly unequal society, with an almost impossible chance of getting a basic education, and a great risk of unemployment. In such situations, the risk of becoming dissatisfied with and antagonistic to the rest of society is quite high.

The attraction of an idealistic cult like Daesh becomes irresistible and the hope of martyrdom for a greater cause attracts them like honey to a bee.

In a recently published book Open Letter: One Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression, by Charb, the author stresses the fundamental differences between Muslim and European traditions which seem to be incompatible.

In the West we put great store by our formal legal system with its emphasis on human rights, whereas Muslims seem to give a greater importance to habits, beliefs, communal morality and other social mores which make it difficult to accept western society values.

He suggests that while the basic tenets of western society (including the right to free speech) should be maintained at all costs, we should be more ready to accept foreign customs which would help in the integration of these persons.

After all, this is what multiculturalism is all about.