Letters to the Editor
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Nary a peep from the rest of the Muslims - says Jeffrey
Did it ever occur to any of smugly bemoaning the lack of condemnation from the 'non-violent' Muslims that maybe that's just not newsworthy?
You really think it's going to make the news that I, along with about 99% of Muslims, am horrified by the actions of these terrorists who've taken hostage the face of Islam and commited such atrocities in the name of my religion? That I condemn these monsters, that any of us or even the majority of us denounce their actions - I challenge you to tell me in what paper that would make the front page. What do you suggest I do to, take out an ad? Flag down my neighbors and clarify my stance? ("Listen, I just want you to know, as your fellow citizen and representative Muslim, that I am not cool with these terrorists. Just thought you should know.")
I'd love a response to this.
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re: not a peep...
There's been a oft stated (and I think specious) expression that moderate Muslims do disapprove of their fundamentalist counterparts, but this disapproval has been ignored by the media, particularly the western media. There's also a sentiment expressed that it's unfair to expect moderate Muslims to apologize for their more colorful brethren, or that having already rent their breast, enough already with apologies. I personally have no use for apologies, nor do I expect any, but strong public disapproval, by the Muslim community, combined with a firm zero tolerance for hatred, and a commitment to root out any terrorist infiltration into the overall peaceful Muslim community might be a good public relations move.
It's interesting that we always get a very clear message from the Muslim community when Muslims so desire: from large public displays over a Nigerian beauty contest, to the shock of Korans flushed down the toilet, to the hurt from perceived disrespect to the prophet, to the rage of young Muslim men in the Paris suburbs, as well as various edicts issued by Muslim religious leaders regarding everything from the occupations of Iraq and Palestinian to the function of women in the Muslim community. Yet there's this elusive condemnation of terrorism and violence by the same community; we know it's out there, but no one can really put a finger on it. By all means, post the links to the large demonstrations for peace and moderation: I'll read it and rest a bit easier for the labor, but I don't think you can. I think there's a large sympathy for the ultimate goals of the fundamentalists, either because they carry the torch for Muslim nationalism or because, ultimately, there really is no such thing as moderate Islam - that it's very nature is defined by the goal of spreading the word by any means necessary - and like all those burdened with the sway of religious indoctrination, you can't help but root for the home team - even if you do it by ignoring the monsters in your midst.
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Will they unleash a new wave of riots in France's restive Muslim enclaves?
Hopefully not and I think it is actually very unlikely. If anything happens, it probably won’t go any further than a few peaceful protests.
You need to look back at the riots in October and November.
Religion was not a factor at all during those riots. Past the first few days of rioting, when no one had a good grasp on what was happening, no one in France tied them to terrorism or to Islamism, except for a handful of blowhards. The riots were about racism and social alienation and clearly understood as such. Far from a separatist rejection of French society, the rioters were expressing their frustrations at not being let in. They were not trying to make a revolution and institute Sharia or whatever and were not perceived as an existential threat to French society. The riots meant to remind everybody of the broken promises of integration.
Consequently, the riots were, believe it or not, handled rather softly. The French police was extremely cautious not to add casualties and were more concerned with protecting lives - including those of the rioters - rather then physical assets. Given the choice between protecting cars and buildings or taking the risk of killing or injuring rioters, the police always chose, wisely, to let the cars burn. That also explains why the riots were so spectacular and seemingly out of control. But the burning cars not withstanding, the end result of this strategy was that not a single rioter was killed during the whole three weeks of unrest. Contrast that result to the Los Angeles riots in 1992, with at least 50 dead and more than 4,000 injured.
Something else to know about those riots: some apparently high-risk neighborhoods remained completely quiet. Invariably, those were either the territories of well organized criminal gangs or Islamist strongholds. In both cases, the grown-ups - criminals or fundamentalists - understood that they had a lot to loose in provoking security forces and they worked hard to prevent the kids from making any trouble. Islamists went out of their way to dissociate themselves from the riots. The UOIF, the most notorious Islamist association in France, published a fatwa against the rioters. A controversy after a smoke grenade exploded near a mosque in Clichy-sous-Bois was quickly snuffed by the Islamists themselves.
Why was that?
The answer is simple. Islamists know full well that, contrary to the disaffected kids of last November, they would immediately be perceived as an existential threat and that the restrain the French government and the French population exhibited in November would not extend to them. Islamists in France are under very close scrutiny by the French national security apparatus [which has a very extensive set of intelligence and repressive tools: the kind of tool set that John Ashcroft would never dare to dream of, even in his wettest fantasies]. They are considered as extremely dangerous by the population and cannot count on any sympathy from the rest of the country, including from most of their fellow coreligionists.
Any riot with an overtly Islamist tone would face ferocious repression. The population would largely approve and probably actively demand the use of all-out force. The lash-back would be incredibly brutal, nothing comparable to the kid-gloves approach used in November 2005.
For the past twenty years, Islamists in France have worked very hard to build a facade of respectability and they are not interested in compromising those efforts. Although you can never completely discount the risk of riots, civil unrest is the very last thing they are looking for.