Within days of the bombings that shook London on 7 July, British police announced the perpetrators were British-born suicide bombers of Pakistani origin. The political shrapnel may well be as devastating as that of the bombs which killed at least 52 people -- and the Arab and Muslim communities across Europe might pay a dear price. Since 9/11, immigration laws across the West -- particularly regarding Arabs and Muslims -- have been tightened, with instances of racism, institutionalised at times, becoming common. With Arabs and Muslims forming the working underclass of many Western societies, to which they often arrive fleeing hunger, desperation and marginalisation, recent attacks constitute a grave problem for Western states, one which few are dealing with humanely. If failed policies continue, and if Arabs or Muslims indeed are responsible, it is likely such attacks as those in London will not be the last we will witness. Al-Ahram Weekly considers the condition of immigrants across the West