Back in 2015, there was a huge backlash against the suggestion that there were Muslim “no go” zones in Europe. Recently I heard a podcast discussion about Sweden and the controversy over immigration in that country. I began to wonder what happened regarding the presence of no-go zones, and what I discovered caused me concern about the increase in Muslim neighborhoods in Europe and whether we should be concerned in this country. I think we should.

First, it’s helpful to understand that there’s a lack of agreement on what comprises a no-go zone. Originally these areas were described as neighborhoods or districts where non-Muslims who entered them were attacked by residents. The real issue, according to Daniel Pipes, is that the neighborhoods were dangerous for government representatives, particularly the police:

In a 2006 weblog entry, I called Muslim enclaves in Europe no-go zones as a non-euphemistic equivalent for the French phrase Zones Urbaines Sensibles, or Sensitive Urban Zones. No-go zones subsequently became standard in English to describe Muslim-majority areas in West Europe. After spending time in the banlieues (suburbs) of Paris in January 2013, as well as in their counterparts in Antwerp, Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, the Hague, Malmö, and Stockholm, however, I had second thoughts. I found that those areas “are not full-fledged no-go zones” — meaning places where the government had lost control of territory. No warlords dominate; sharia is not the law of the land. I expressed regret back then for having used the term no-go zones.