Based on my own experience, immigrants often become more conservative and religious than an average person in their old country. This is certainly true of Eastern European immigrants in the US, who often become fire breathing reactionaries. The main reason suggested in the literature (cf. Thomas and Znaniecki _ Polish peasant in Europe and America_ ) is problems adapting to the new culture often provoke a recourse to idealized version of the old country culture, especially its religion, which is usually conservative to begin with.
If this explanation is correct, the phenomenon in question is more of the effect of immigrant identity politics (may it rot in a shithouse!) than religious influence per se. OTOH, some of the tribal customs from Islamic countries are indeed reprehensible cf. the custom of vani in Pakistan http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4499028.stm
Yoshie:
> Can the Iraq War become as great a divider as slavery? Can American
> leftists follow the example of German leftists, i.e., building their
> own independent force, splitting the Democratic Party, and denying
> both Democrats and Republicans a majority?
One of many dividers, rather than the great divider. David Harvey in _A Brief History of Neoliberalism_ (a great book!) argues that the neo-liberal elites manages to inflict numerous splits into the liberal/left population, starting with pomo identity politics. Iraq war is but one addition to that long list.
With that in mind, I do not think that the left can do anything of political significance on its own at the current moment. The corporate fascist juggernaut is simply too powerful to be defeated at this time. They are the equivalent of the Nazi troops entering Paris - unstoppable at the moment. The best we can hope for is to look east and wait for Stalingrad.
That is why I do not expect much bang from challengers in the US politics - Obama, Tasini - or even Karl Marx himself, if he were alive. They cannot withstand the assault of the corporate "panzerfaust" and at the end of the day they will either go along with the corporate program or be swept aside. The only force that is capable of breaking the backbone of the corporate fascist juggernaut is another USSR. My problem is, however, that possible contenders who are actually capable of making some dents here - China, Islamism - are even more reprehensible than the empire itself.
Wojtek