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LONDON – 21st Century Fox and News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch has caused a social media firestorm with a Twitter comment about Muslims’ ability to integrate into Western societies.
The media mogul Monday afternoon expressed support of outgoing U.K. chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who had said in an interview with News Corp’s The Times of London that multiculturalism has “had its day, and it’s time to move on.”
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Sacks said: “The real danger in a multicultural society is that every ethnic group and religious group becomes a pressure group, putting our people’s interest ahead of the national interest.”
He also suggested that Muslims in Britain could learn from the Jewish experience of living as a minority, according to the Times.
“Good for UK Chief Rabbi Sacks!” Murdoch tweeted. “‘Let’s put multiculturalism behind us. Societies have to integrate. Muslims find it hardest.”
Some Twitter users immediately responded angrily to Murdoch.
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“@rupertmurdoch you are a very bad man please stop existing,” said a person using the Twitter name kiss wizard.
“As father of two part-Chinese children, don’t you think multuculturalism’s been rather good for Australia?” another user tweeted. Yet another said: “I think you might be confusing Muslims with the Amish.”
Murdoch last year developed a reputation for controversial tweets about such topics as the Middle East, Tom Cruise and Scientology, and others.
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
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