Quote from ARogueTrader:
It could also be that the lily white Christians are afraid to go into the black community to attempt to empower the poor blacks via conversion to Christianity, or reinforcement of existing theological ideology.
Part of the problem with the statistics for blacks and crime, etc. is that if you really break down the numbers you will find many other factors beyond race, ethnicity, or religion that are at the root of violence and crime.
The number of blacks that come from broken homes, poverty, lack of education etc. should be taken into account when making such evaluations and subsequent conclusions as to the cause of criminal or violent behavior.
External conditions can and do lead to hopelessness and crime, black, white, Muslim, or Christian.
I live and grew up here in a Chicago neighborhood that the NYT's described as the nation's most diverse. The demographics
31% American born Whites
20% American born Blacks
18% Latino
16% European Born White
15% Other (mostly Asian's with a large contingency of African immigrants.)
This place is a hodgepodge. I would further estimate 25% of the Whites are Jewish, and close to 10% of the neighborhood is gay or lesbian. Not many Republican's in this hood. LOL.
Most of the blacks converting to Islam are being indoctrinated in prison. The virtues of Islam are apparent. Strict adherence means staying away from drink and drugs, and the message from Farrakhan etal is largely one of black empowerment. However there is also a strong separatist message preached that may ultimately prove problematic if things get ugly here. The notion of Chicago gang member Jose Padilia being recruited by Al Queda does not strike me as ridiculously unlikely. Like many things there is a ying/yang that has many facets.