More Muslim Riots in France

Posted By Ryan Mauro On July 22, 2010 @ 12:00 am In Column 2, Culture,
Europe, France, Politics, Religion, World News | 40
<http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/more-muslim-riots-in-france/?print=1#comments_
controls>  Comments

You probably didn't hear about it, but Muslim youths rioted
<http://www.thefoxnation.com/international/2010/07/18/muslims-riot-fire-fren
ch-police>  [1] in Grenoble, France, on July 16, sparking some of the worst
instability the country has faced since the 2005 riots. Now, like then, most
of the media declined <http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/203332.php>  [2] to
mention the religious or ethnic background of the rioters, instead painting
them as unruly youngsters and covering the eyes of the public to the slow
dissolution of France as we know it.

The violence began soon after a Muslim robbed a casino and opened fire as he
tried to flee the police, who then shot and killed him. This apparently
raised the ire of major elements of the mostly Muslim urban communities who
live in poor neighborhoods unassimilated into the greater society. The
shooting was seen as an attack on Muslims, rather than an act of justice.
Shortly following a speech
<http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/07/muslims-riot-mayhem
-in-france.html>  [3] by an Islamic cleric at a ceremony for the robber, the
match was struck. As of now, there are no media reports revealing what the
cleric said, if anything, to stoke the flame.

Over fifty cars were set ablaze
<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3920985,00.html>  [4]. Stores
were also burned and a tramway stoned. Gang members carrying baseball bats
took over buses. When the police arrested one rioter, things got worse. Law
enforcement officers were fired upon and targeted with stones and Molotov
cocktails. It wasn't for four days that a level of calm returned
<http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/294896>  [5].

This is France today. Police must fear that any use of force against a
criminal with a Muslim background could be interpreted as an act of
brutality and racism that must be responded to with violence.

The country was first forced to recognize the problem in 2005 when riots
<http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2005/11/08/in_depth_world/timeline1022872.s
html>  [6] broke out in 300 towns for three weeks following the deaths of
two Muslim teenagers who were electrocuted when they hid in a power station
believing they were being chased by police. Fires were set to over 300
buildings and over 9,000 cars. A state of emergency was declared and nearly
3,000 rioters were arrested and 126 police officers were injured. Schools,
gyms, stores, churches, and police stations were attacked as the rioters
clashed with police. Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal would later boast
<http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=33772>  [7] that he convinced Rupert Murdoch to
order Fox News to stop describing the rioters as Muslims.

It didn't take long for the disgruntled Muslim urbanites to go for a second
round. In May 2006, about 100 youths with baseball bats fought
<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1640905/posts>  [8] with police on
the same battlefields from the previous year. The mayor had to flee his home
when it was stoned, homemade explosives were tossed at the town hall
building, trash cans were in flames, and four cars were blown up. It is not
clear what exactly sparked the violence, but two arrests for separate
incidents did precede the upheaval.

Then in November 2007, a police officer arrived
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2983714.ece>  [9]
at a traffic accident involving a police vehicle and motorcycle that killed
two teenagers. The officer's car was set on fire before he could escape. He
ended up in the hospital with several broken ribs and a punctured lung from
being beaten with baseball bats and iron bars. Clashes with police continued
for two days as gang members, armed with shotguns, fired at police as they
committed acts of looting and arson. About 130 police officers were injured,
70 cars were burned, and various buildings were attacked including a library
and two schools. One police officer described
<http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3920292&page=1>  [10] the
scene as an "open rebellion" by "urban guerillas."

These hubs of impoverished, mostly Muslim immigrant communities exist
because the French government has designated
<http://sig.ville.gouv.fr/Atlas/ZUS/>  [11] them as "sensitive urban zones."
These are areas where the police do not have control, effectively making
them "no-go zones," as Dr. Daniel Pipes describes
<http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/11/the-751-no-go-zones-of-france>
[12] them. Almost five million people live in these areas which are left to
themselves, allowing gangs and hostility to authority to breed.

In his book Disinformation, Richard Miniter makes the case that a lack of
assimilation is a key factor in breeding terrorism. A survey of terrorists
by former CIA case officer Marc Sageman found
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/front/etc/profile.html>  [13]
that "80 percent were, in some way, totally excluded from the society they
lived in." The rioters may be more motivated by a belief that they are being
persecuted on the basis of their religion or ethnicity and a desire to
self-govern than by radical Islam, but the lack of assimilation will also
breed extremism. In the United Kingdom, pro-terrorist gangs are forming
<http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2009/11/30/birmingham-gang-
warn-about-becoming-taliban-suicide-bombers-66331-25276110/>  [14] in such
areas and that is a trend that will come to France if it has not already.

Al-Qaeda and other forces hostile to the French government and police can be
counted on to try to paint France's ban on the wearing of the burqa and
niqab as an act of oppression, even if few actually wore them. If the past
is any indication, this line will be bought by those who have violently
reacted to any potential police action with a knee-jerk belief that it is
ill-intentioned and abusive.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, based in Algeria, threatened
<http://www.france24.com/en/20090630-al-qaeda-vows-revenge-frances-burqa-war
ning->  [15] to retaliate when the ban was first being discussed. A Muslim
group called "Sheikh Yassin," in honor of the Hamas founder killed by the
Israelis, rioted
<http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2010/05/20/riots-over-the-burqa-in-p
aris%E2%80%94it%E2%80%99s-gaza-on-seine-all-over-again/>  [16] at a debate
about the ban in May. Islamist forces are undoubtedly looking at violent
opposition to governing authorities in the "sensitive urban zones" as an
opportunity.

The riots are the result of a French government too afraid to exercise
control over its own territory. The question now is how long it will take
for Islamism to transform these areas into Sharia enclaves.
<http://frontpagemag.com/2010/07/09/munslim-enclaves-u-s-a/>  [17]

  _____  

Article printed from Pajamas Media: http://pajamasmedia.com

URL to article: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/more-muslim-riots-in-france/

URLs in this post: 

[1] rioted:
http://www.thefoxnation.com/international/2010/07/18/muslims-riot-fire-frenc
h-police

[2] declined: http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/203332.php

[3] speech:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/07/muslims-riot-mayhem-
in-france.html

[4] ablaze: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3920985,00.html

[5] returned: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/294896

[6] riots:
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2005/11/08/in_depth_world/timeline1022872.sh
tml

[7] boast: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=33772

[8] fought: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1640905/posts

[9] arrived:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2983714.ece

[10] described: http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3920292&page=1

[11] designated: http://sig.ville.gouv.fr/Atlas/ZUS/

[12] describes:
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2006/11/the-751-no-go-zones-of-france

[13] found:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/front/etc/profile.html

[14] forming:
http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2009/11/30/birmingham-gang-w
arn-about-becoming-taliban-suicide-bombers-66331-25276110/

[15] threatened:
http://www.france24.com/en/20090630-al-qaeda-vows-revenge-frances-burqa-warn
ing-

[16] rioted:
http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2010/05/20/riots-over-the-burqa-in-pa
ris%E2%80%94it%E2%80%99s-gaza-on-seine-all-over-again/

[17] enclaves.: http://frontpagemag.com/2010/07/09/munslim-enclaves-u-s-a/

 



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