In light of the recent Rape Gang Inquiry Report, which documented how over a quarter million British girls were systematically gang-raped by mostly Pakistani men, an important question arises:
Which was more responsible for these men’s despicable actions—their Pakistani culture, or their Islamic religion?
Many argue for the former—as can be seen in the title of one op-ed: “Don’t blame Islam for grooming gangs: The tight-knit clan structure lies at the root of the sex abuse scandal.”
Moreover, while the Rape Gang report notes that 87-95% of men arrested in connection to these rape gangs are Muslims, one often gets the impression that the true common denominator is Pakistani culture.
Consider, for example, this excerpt:
The majority of these convicted groups consisted entirely of men from Muslim backgrounds. These groups are predominantly of Pakistani heritage, especially when the group exceeds ten or more members. The larger group size dynamic of Pakistani perpetrators is on display in major prosecutions and official reviews from locations such as Rochdale, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Oxford, Telford, and others.
Similarly, while the report offers numerous examples of Pakistani rape gangs, only a tiny fraction of non-Pakistani Muslims was involved (two Somali-origin gangs in Bristol; a mainly African-heritage gang in Banbury; three Iranians in Chelmsford; three Syrians and one Kuwaiti in Newcastle; two Turkish men in Somerset).
This might suggest that the other Muslim groups were merely copying their Pakistani coreligionists?
And so, we return to our question: which is it—Pakistani culture, or Islamic teaching?
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