Absolutely incredible story: UK prime minister Tony Blair has joined other commentators in insisting that Muslim veils are a “mark of separation” from the rest of society. Bush’s policies have rightly or wrongly killed thousands of Middle Easterners, but it’s hard to imagine even him insulting Islamic tradition like this.

Anti-immigration activists have long warned of an impending backlash against open borders, and it appears these predictions are coming true. This kind of rhetoric, especially from a Western country’s top official, doesn’t bode well for individual rights.

Also, I pointed out in a previous post that, while probably accurate, these comments from political leaders aren’t likely to win any friends in the Islamic community. The French riots showed that socially isolated Muslim immigrants aren’t too pleasant, so public insults are more likely to enrage them than integrate them.

Europe would be better off either letting the Muslim community segregate itself, or cutting off immigration by populations whose habits make the continent “uncomfortable.”

Many observers and scholars have pointed to the radicalizing effects the Western experience can have; a good number of terrorist leaders trained in the West.

Fortunately, Blair made it clear that government policy isn’t the way to solve this “problem.” He’s just counting on Muslims’ hopes for inclusion to outweight their religious convictions.

Here’s to hoping he doesn’t hold his breath.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.