France and the Muslim myth

[T_i_B]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1641413,00.html

Analysts and commentators often seek to find evidence to support their well-established ideas in any given event. So while critics of the 'French social model' have gleefully seen evidence of its failure in the recent violence in France, its supporters have seen evidence of the damage done by right-wing policies in the country. But little compares with the extraordinary way in which the disturbances of the last two weeks have been hijacked by those who appear set on either finding, or creating, a 'clash of civilisations' between Islam and the West.

Take one particularly egregious example. Melanie Phillips, writing in the Daily Mail, described the riots in France as 'a French intifada, an uprising by French Muslims against the state'. I covered the intifada in Israel and Palestine and, beyond the fact that thrown stones look much the same wherever they are, saw little that resembled the Gaza Strip in the autumn of 2000 in Clichy-sous-Bois in the autumn of 2005. In the course of her article, Phillips spoke of how 'night after night, France been under attack by its Muslim minority', how the country was being 'torched from Normandy to the Mediterranean', how it had 'sniffed the danger that had arisen in its midst' and quoted a little-known writer called Bat Ye'Or who is a favourite of the more unsavoury right-wing American websites and believes that the European Union is a conspiracy dedicated to creating one Muslim-dominated political entity that will comprise most of the Middle East and Europe.

Phillips also conflated Arabs (a race), and Muslims (a global religion of 1.3 billion, some devout, some not). This is dangerous nonsense, but needs to be studied.

First, the facts. According to the French intelligence services, the areas where radical Islamic ideologies have spread furthest in France have actually proved the calmest over recent weeks. Second, characterising the rioters as 'Muslim' at all is ludicrous. Most were as Westernised as you would expect third-generation immigrants to be and far more interested in soft drugs and rap than getting up for dawn prayers. Indeed, a high proportion was of sub-Saharan African descent and not Muslim at all. Others were white and so, following Phillips's description of the darker skinned rioters as 'Arab Muslims', should presumably be referred to as 'Caucasian Christians'.

[tocqueville]

1. the main problem is a problem of criminality

that has gone to long unpunished, giving a feeling of impunity to the delinquents. The key of the story is there, not into "Islam". Of course the degrading and poverty in some areas play a major role in the "official" motives for the rioting, but the basic remains in the fact that the local gangs DON'T WANT TO SEE THE POLICE in the areas they control.

the Guardian article is very accurate in its description.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

2. Good article, thanks for posting.

Jason Burke always makes for good reading.

[Poppyseedman]

3. Stop reading when I got to this line

In the USA, religious fundamentalists who strive for a return to the 1950s and a society where everyone - women, blacks, whites, children - knew their place now wield unprecedented influence.

Horse shit. A big pile of steaming horseshit
The religious fundamentalists who actually believe this are such a small number they don't even have influence over their local churches

Anybody who believes this drivel losses me as an honest reading of the current events.

[kalibex]

5. Wow...either deliberate distraction, or a certain River in Egypt.

If the latter, check out: http://talk2action.blogspot.com/

[patcox2]

7. Did you miss something?

The author says that US fundamentalists wield extraordinary influence. Its absolutely true. Knuckle-dragging fundies may be a minority, but thats excatly why the amount of influence they have is extraordinary. Bush kow-tows to the fundies constantly, that means they have influence. His court picks are pretty much dictated by the fundamentalists, Focus ont he Family, et al. The biggest fake issues in US politics, abortion, ten commandments, school prayer, intelligent design, and the biggest boogeyman issue of all, banning gay marriage, are all issues pushed by the fundies. The defense of marriage act passed, it didn't fail. They set the frigging political debate in this country.

What about this is not true?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. there are some conservatives who want a holy war

between Islam and Christianity, and distort the unrest in France to conform with their view. My only fear is that their wish may become true, and that many, many Muslims, who only want to be let alone to live in peace with their neighbors, will be slaughtered.

[T_i_B]

6. I fear that may be true

and that's the last thing that we all need. :-(