I’m writing you from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Last night, I jumped on their pristine subway and headed to the Riyadh Gallery mall. Yes, it was a mall, just like any other you’d find in America, with a food court stocked with McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC, among other notable American fast-food chains.

I couldn’t resist eating a Zinger burger from KFC, and browsed the stores a bit. Then, I got back on the subway and took it to my hotel. My hotel is a nice four-star accommodation under the Rotana brand, a popular one in this part of the world.

The subway was as clean as a whistle, reminding me much more of Singapore’s MRT than New York City’s disgrace of a subway. Yes, there are separate subway cars for Singles, Women, and Families. If only New York City would have separate cars for publicly pooping lunatics!

The thing is, I don’t just feel safer here in Riyadh than in New York. I know I’m safer.

And yet, this begs the question: why are crime rates so much higher among Muslim minorities in Europe than among the natives of those countries? And much, much higher than in their home countries?

This is the paradox no one in polite society dares mention: Muslim-majority cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Doha consistently rank among the safest on Earth, yet Muslim-origin populations in parts of Europe are statistically overrepresented in crime.

This isn’t Islamophobia, far from it. It’s arithmetic.

Islam and The West

It’s high time we stopped pretending this paradox doesn’t exist because many disagreements in the West arise from assumptions, ignorance, and a lack of curiosity.

For instance, I understand entirely why Douglas Murray and Dave Rubin constantly argue in favor of Israel. As gay men, homosexuality is criminalized in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. In Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it’s punishable by death. In Israel, they’re not only free to do what they want in their bedrooms, but don’t have to worry about getting kidnapped and prosecuted for their sexuality.

But as a married straight man, I don’t need to care about that. Perhaps you think that uncaring of me, but it’s the truth. I don’t want anything bad to happen to either Douglas or Dave. At the same time, just stay out of those countries. Good fences make good neighbors, and pushing Western liberalism on hyper conservatives like the Saudis will only invite an unwelcome response. After all, it’s their country. Let them make their own laws.

I’ve never been to Tel Aviv, though I’d love to visit it, along with Jerusalem, one day. But I find it hard to believe that Tel Aviv is better than any of the cities I’ve already visited here in the Middle East. According to official statistics, Tel Aviv is safe, but not as secure as Riyadh.

And of course, Murray is British. The UK is a country that has utterly failed at integrating not only Muslim immigrants, but also the British-born children of Muslim immigrants. And far from stopping the flow of migrants, the Starmer government has only upped the ante.

The U.S. has Little Mogadishu where Minneapolis used to be, and a foreign carpetbagging Muslim communist is about to take the reins in New York City, barring an astounding Cuomo or Adams comeback. 

Needless to say, there’s 9/11. From that point of view, it’s understandable why Americans would look at Muslims askance.

And yet, Muslim Americans barely - yes, barely - commit any crimes. For all of Europe’s allegedly socialist efforts to create one people, in capitalist America, Muslims integrate much better than their counterparts across the pond.

Let’s explore why.

Desert Discipline vs. European Disorder

In the Gulf, crime is virtually a rounding error. The streets are safer than a nun’s diary.

Why? There are four main reasons.

First, crime doesn’t “pay” there — it explodes in your face. Courts are fast, sentences are swift, and there’s no “catch and release” revolving door. Even petty theft can cost you your residency… or a hand.

Next, from omnipresent CCTV to AI-driven facial recognition, Gulf governments see what you had for breakfast. You’re never more than five meters from a camera — and every misdeed is a close-up.

Another reason is everyone has a job or gets sent home. Residency depends on good behavior. Break the law, and your exit visa appears faster than your lawyer.

Finally, you think Italy believes in la famiglia? Try the Arabs. Social norms are strong, families are cohesive, and status is largely determined by reputation. No one wants to be the idiot who disgraces their clan on TikTok.

That combo creates a perfect safety bubble. It’s not magic, it’s management.

The European Reality Check

Contrast that with the chaotic integration free-for-all in Western Europe.

Many Muslim immigrants arrive with nothing. Jobs are scarce. Housing is bleak. Crime becomes the only growth industry.

What’s worse is that it’s often the migrants’ European-born children who go off the rails. Stuck between two worlds, they feel rejected by both — and some choose gangs over guidance counselors.

As an immigrant in Italy, I can tell you it’s harder to maneuver when you don’t speak the language. Ever try to learn Swedish? Fuhgeddaboudit! When you can’t speak the language or navigate the system, you get stuck on the margins. And the margins breed resentment — and crime.

London has as many cameras as any other city. But if you commit a crime there? A warning and probation. Max.

Commit one in Riyadh? You’ll be lucky to get a plane ticket home instead of a cell.

The result is higher crime rates in neighborhoods with large Muslim populations, despite all the kumbaya rhetoric about “diversity is our greatest strength.”

This isn’t a racial argument — it’s a structural one. When you import people without importing the enforcement and expectations that kept them law-abiding at home, you get chaos, not cohesion.

Why Safety Doesn’t Travel Well

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the safety of the Gulf is engineered. It’s not something inherent in the religion or DNA of its inhabitants, strong family ties notwithstanding. It’s the product of:

Gulf cities have strict and immediate law enforcement, with advanced and pervasive surveillance technology supporting public safety. Economic stability is high, characterized by low poverty rates and high employment levels, which fosters strong social cohesion based on shared norms and values. Migrant demographics are highly selective, with residency tightly restricted and contingent on good conduct, and significant economic incentives back integration expectations. As a result, crime levels remain very low.

In contrast, Western European cities employ more lenient and procedural law enforcement, and have more limited surveillance systems due to privacy concerns. Greater inequality mars economic conditions. Diversity challenges European social cohesion. Migrant populations in Western Europe often include refugees and a broader range of origins, making integration more complex. As a result, crime rates are much higher among marginalized populations compared to Gulf cities.

Europe pretended it could import millions of people from very different cultures without importing the legal, economic, and social scaffolding that made their home countries safe. It’s like buying a Ferrari engine and bolting it to a go-kart — then wondering why you’re wrapped around a tree.

The Forbidden Conversation

Every time this comes up, the chattering classes shriek “Islamophobia!” as if shouting down reality will somehow change it.

But notice who isn’t crying about it: the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and others. They know the secret: law before leniency.

They don’t tolerate petty crime, much less gang warfare. They don’t hand out benefits while asking for nothing in return. And they sure as heck don’t allow identity-politics activists to redefine policing as oppression.

Wrap Up

If European leaders actually wanted safer cities, they’d stop virtue-signaling and start mandating language and civic education for newcomers, tying residency and benefits to law-abiding behavior, targeting crime surgically — and punishing it swiftly.

And perhaps most of all, they’d stop romanticizing failure as a “cultural difference.”

Until they do, the security gulf between the Gulf and Europe will keep widening — and pretending otherwise will just get more Europeans robbed, stabbed, or worse.

Because here’s the bottom line: safety isn’t something you import. It’s something you enforce.

And if you don’t? Well, just ask the guy in London who thought he could wear a Rolex as if he were walking down Sheikh Zayed Road.