The Achilles heel of multiculturalism

All generalisations are dangerous. But sometimes they help to clarify or to develop arguments. What follows is an almost verbatim quote from a conservative internet blog. Food for thought I would say : it is a fact we have allowed or even favored ghetto development in our cities instead of pushing actively for integration with respect for diversity : and we will be partly responsible at least for the dire effects these ghetto politics may bring. And maybe the following article overestimates the importance of Islamist extremism in Europe.

"Multiculturalism grew up in a time where people, unhappy with the behaviors of their forefathers, sought to find alternative role models in the cultures of other parts of the world, and used them, somewhat like a smorgasbord, to pick and choose things they would like to be part of their world view. It goes hand in hand with the repudiation of the older cultural norms and the longing to make something that seemed more fair, clean and perhaps holy in the eyes of the beholder. But an end result was something that could be easily exploited by those who had other agendas besides the merging of all that was good in a culture into a matrix that everybody would enjoy.
Besides the destruction of the "old truths and verities" as William Faulkner used to say, contemplate this : resistance to integration and assimilation into the mainstream culture is the cornerstone of the Islamist extremist agenda as it helps in the development of closed societies within the host societies.
There is no doubt that a community that allows a number of closed communities to develop in its midst loses its social cohesiveness and becomes dysfunctional. It becomes a source of discontent and dissatisfaction, breeds conflicts and lives in a perpetual state of tension. Knowing that a marginalised and disenfranchised youth serves as a never-exhausting source for terrorism and a divided society breeds such young men, the Islamist extremist establishment has worked diligently to sabotage social harmony in Europe.
As a first step toward achieving this objective, Muslim extremists are convinced that they will have to insist on maintaining their “Islamic” identity, as their culture is better than the host culture. To further divide the host societies along the religious lines, Muslim extremists are encouraged to refuse to evolve in the culture in which they live. They are being forced to recede into closed societies by refusing to integrate into the mainstream culture.
At best, this "celebration of diversity" has brought cultural weakness and social disruption everywhere where its brand of intolerant "toleration" has become the norm, destroying the old fall back positions that gave people under pressure a way to bond together in strength until the danger has passed. And now, it is playing into the hands of those who wish to bring the entire edifice of Western civilization down.
Is it too late to stem the tide? (1) "

No, it is not ! Mutual respect will do the trick ! But a tall order that is !

(1) slightly adapted from : http://voicesfromthelongwar.blogspot.com/ : quoting this blog does not imply that I agree with its whole contents.