By Criticising Islam And Defending The Caricatures Macron Is Unnecessarily Antagonising The Muslim World
By Mona Alami
16 November
2020
The recent
three terrorist attacks in France point to a new generation of extremists
perpetrated by religiously inspired individuals, operating individually and
using generally simple weapons, requiring little skill.
French police officers stand
guard outside Notre Dame church in Lille, northern France, Sunday, Nov. 1,
2020. (AP)
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As France’s
polarized debate that pits religious freedom against secularism continues, the
European country’s problem with extremism has come back into the spotlight,
with one expert warning of potential future attacks.
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“The
situation is extremely dangerous, we are talking about a new generation of
[extremists] represented by isolated individuals who feel disconnected from
French values,” warns Alain Marsaud, former French prosecutor and former head
of the central counter-terrorism unit.
The
assaults took place after the republishing of the caricatures of the Prophet
Mohammad by satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which renewed debate in French
over the limits of free speech.
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“The three
attackers were religiously inspired individuals, set off either by the
caricatures or statements made by [French] President [Emmanuel] Macron
following the beheading of Samuel Paty,” explained veteran journalist Georges
Malbrunot, an expert in Middle East affairs, who spoke to Al Arabiya English.
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Also Read: In the Wake of Killings in France, Some Questions to Fellow Muslims
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These
attacks are different from previous terrorist attacks that took place on French
soil in the 2015 period that were led by highly organized individuals, who made
use of advanced weapons and were claimed by ISIS, explained Malbrunot. They
were also different from the attack in Vienna last week, which was also claimed
by ISIS and conducted by an Austrian national who had been convicted for trying
to join the organization in Syria via Turkey.
French police and CRS riot
policemen patrol in Montmartre in Paris as France has raised the security alert
for French territory to the highest level after the knife attack in the city of
Nice, France, October 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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“The
attackers were all unknown to the intelligence services. None of them had real
links to terrorist groups although one of them was in contact with an
[extremist] in Syria. This expands greatly the area of possible radicalization
to people belonging politically to ‘grey areas’ such as the Muslim Brotherhood
and other Islamic movements operating in France, given the currently charged
French context,” said Malbrunot.
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Also Read:
Muslims In Europe Should Reshape Their Approach Towards The People Of The
Book
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Samuel
Paty, a teacher, was beheaded after showing the caricatures of the prophet
during a class on freedom of speech. French president, Emmanuel Macron,
responded to the killing of Paty by saying France would not “renounce the
caricatures.”
Before the
death of Paty, on October 2, Macron spoke about extremism and secularism in
France, addressing how to integrate Islam with French secularism, namely by
regulating imams and mosques. He also stated that “Islam is a religion that is
experiencing a crisis across the world,” which provoked the ire of many Muslims
around the world.
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Also Read:
Blasphemy, Islam and Free Speech
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The first
attack took place on September 25 when Zaher Hassan Mahmood, a 25-year-old man
of Pakistani origin who lived in France bought a butcher’s knife and stabbed
two people in front of the former offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. On October
16, Abdullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old refugee of Chechen origin who grew up in
France beheaded middle school teacher Samuel Paty who was showing the Charlie
Hebdo cartoons as part of a free speech class. Finally on October 19, Tunisian
refugee Brahim Aouissaoui, killed three people with a knife in the Notre Dame
basilica in Nice in southern France.
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Also Read:
Islam and Free Speech: A Reply to A. Faizur Rahman
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Marsaud
explained that the policy of laicity adopted by previous French governments has
been lax and confusing.
“We haven’t
had the courage to strictly apply the law on separation between church and
state. We have to harden the current legislation. Today 60 percent of Muslim
youth in France place sharia law above French law, it’s a failure of our
secular teachings,” warned Marsaud.
Malbrunot
predicted that France could see more isolated attacks of this nature in the
future.
“By
appearing to criticize Islam and defending the caricatures [that are offensive
to the prophet], Macron is opposing himself to the Muslim world.”
Original Headline: In France : A new generation
of extremists?
Source: The English Al-Arabiya
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/by-criticising-islam-defending-caricatures/d/123520
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