When French citizens riot, immigration becomes part of the explanation. But how long must descendants of immigrants keep proving they belong? Continue reading Born in France, Still Blamed for Failing to Integrate
French politicians debate Muslim women’s clothing while the EU tackles digital risks facing teenagers. What does freedom mean when religious rules and commercial pressure shape young women’s choices? Continue reading Who Defines Women’s Freedom? Europe’s Hijab Debate and the Online Pressures Facing Teenage Girls
As housing protests continue in Portugal and Spain, Europe’s employed young adults face a difficult question: why is an independent home still out of reach? Continue reading Europe’s Young Workers Can Find Jobs. Finding a Home Is Harder.
Why are far-right parties gaining support in Europe? Examine how fuel prices, immigration and political distrust are shaping European politics in 2026. Continue reading Why Europe’s Far Right Is Gaining Support as Energy Prices Rise
Europe’s mainstream parties can keep radical-right rivals outside government, but that does not necessarily contain their political influence. Germany’s AfD surge, alongside Austria, France, Italy, Sweden and Hungary, reveals the widening gap between exclusion from office and influence over Europe’s political agenda. Continue reading Europe Built a Firewall Against the Far Right. The Politics Crossed It Anyway
Europe trades hundreds of billions of euros with Türkiye and the Gulf, even as Islam, migration and Muslim identity remain contentious political issues at home. The apparent contradiction reveals how Europe’s economic interests and domestic identity politics follow very different rules. Continue reading Europe Trades Billions With Muslim Countries. So Why Has Islam Become Such a Powerful Political Issue at Home?
Europe Knows Muslims Face Discrimination. Why Is Its Response Still So Uneven? Europe has laws against discrimination and now explicitly recognizes anti-Muslim hatred. Yet nearly half of the Muslims surveyed by the EU’s rights agency said they had faced racial … Continue reading Europe’s Islamophobia Problem: What Will It Take to Protect Muslims?
My daughter lives in Munich with her husband and child. They are German citizens, highly educated professionals building an ordinary family life in a country that is now their own. From Karachi, I have never felt a need to put an asterisk beside the word German when I think about them. Then I saw the AfD win nearly 44 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. My daughter does not depend on a German visa, nor does her family need an employer to preserve its right to remain in the country. She is German, and so are her husband and child. … Continue reading My Daughter Is German. The AfD’s Rise Makes Me Ask What “German” Now Means
From Karachi, I have grown used to seeing Germany’s political map divided by a border that officially disappeared in 1990. Election night brings it back. Television maps turn parts of the former East blue for the Alternative für Deutschland, while much of the old West looks different enough to sustain a comforting explanation: AfD belongs mainly to Germany’s unfinished reunification story. Then I looked again at Baden-Württemberg. The AfD received 18.8 percent there in March 2026, almost double its 9.7 percent result five years earlier, and it captured the Mannheim I constituency. It did not win the state, but a … Continue reading Germany Thought the AfD Was an Eastern Problem. Then the West Started Moving
I have lived between Karachi and Munich, and this allows me to observe these debates from two distinct vantage points. When European politicians or media figures discuss “integration,” they are rarely talking about economic participation alone. Instead, they are often … Continue reading European debates on Muslim integration often center on cultural friction
