Are All Terrorists Muslims? It’s Not Even Close

France Becomes First Country In World To Ban Pro-Palestine Demonstrations
feature News News PoliticsJanuary 14, 2015
palestine
“A threat to public order” is in the forecast for France, as it becomes the globe’s first nation to ban anti-Israel protests

France’s Socialist government provoked outrage today by becoming the first in the world to ban protests against Israeli action in Palestine; in what is viewed as an outrageous attack on democracy. Socialist Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, says mass demonstrations planned for the weekend should be halted. Minister Cazeneuve stated there was a ‘threat to public order’, while opponents said he was ‘criminalising’ popular support of the Palestinian people. The Minister fears there might be a repeat of the fights between ‘ultra’ Jewish vigilantes and pro-Palestinians which happened after a demonstration last Sunday. Referring to the main Paris march, Mr. Cazeneuve said:

I consider that the conditions are not right to guarantee security.
Minister Cazeneuve welcomed a legal procedure instigated by the Paris police prefecture to ban the march, despite it already being widely advertised. Anyone who turns up to an illegal demonstration now faces up to a year in prison, and a 15,000 euro fine. If they hide their faces to avoid being identified, this sentence can be increased to three years, and a 45,000 fine.

Even those who publish details of an illegal rally on social media face up to a year in prison, and a 15,000 euro fine. This can be increased to seven years and a 100,000 fine if the postings lead to violence. Mr. Cazeneuve also advised other prefects across France to examine planned marches on a ‘case by case’ basis, and to ban ‘if appropriate’.

EU seeks anti-terror alliance with Arab world
Move to boost cooperation and information-sharing in the wake of deadly attacks and arrests across Europe.
Last updated: 19 Jan 2015 15:19
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Belgium foiled a major attack in the country's east and has since deployed troops in Brussels and Antwerp [Reuters]
The European Union has called for an anti-terror alliance with Arab countries to boost cooperation and information-sharing in the wake of deadly attacks and arrests across Europe.

Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, said on Monday: "We need an alliance. We need to strengthen our way of cooperating together."

Mogherini later met with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby. She also attended a meeting of the EU foreign ministers who are preparing for a summit of EU leaders in February focused on terrorism.

Mogherini also said the EU would appeal a court decision ordering the removal of the Palestinian group Hamas from the EU terrorism blacklist.

Some ministers emphasised the importance of working with Muslim countries, rather than blaming them for the problem.

"They will continue to be in the front line, and we have to work closely with them to protect both those countries and the European Union countries," Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, said.

Information-sharing

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said the police raids launched in his country last week to break up a suspected network of foreign fighters demonstrate that information-sharing is the key to success.

"We have to exchange information in Europe and outside Europe to really follow what is going on and to prevent any acts that could be launched on our territory," he said.

The move comes a week after the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris was attacked by gunmen who killed 12 people, including the magazine’s cartoonists. Five more people were killed in attacks on police and a kosher supermarket.

Belgium, which foiled a large-scale attack in the country's east, killing two men who were behind the plot, deployed up to 300 paratroopers over the weekend to guard public buildings.

As the ministers met on Monday, soldiers walked the perimeter of the European Council building, where internal security has also been beefed up in recent days.

Many ministers said no quick solution to the challenge of foreign fighters is likely, and that the real answer is to help end the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

"That is what long-term will provide stability and security in this region, and to address the root causes of terrorism and radicalisation as well," said Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem.

It may sound like an ironic joke, but it isn’t. Less than a week after the massive rallies in defense of “free expression,” following the murders of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, French authorities have jailed a youth for irony.

The arrest is part of a harsh crackdown on free speech in the country that has prompted criticism from national and international human rights organizations.

A 16-year-old high school student was taken into police custody on Thursday and indicted for “defending terrorism,” national broadcaster France 3 reports.

His alleged crime? He posted on Facebook a cartoon “representing a person holding the magazine Charlie Hebdo, being hit by bullets, and accompanied by an ‘ironic’ comment,” France 3 states.

The report does not include the drawing – presumably that could put France 3 afoul of the law. So we do not know for sure what the youth is accused of sharing.

charlie-hebdo-le-coran-cest-de-la-merde.jpg

An actual Charlie Hebdo from July 2013 caused outrage for mocking Egyptian protestors killed after the military coup. The text says “The Quran is ***. It doesn’t stop bullets.”
But the cartoon at the top of this page fits the description precisely. It was widely shared on social media, and published on 7 January on the website of the controversial French comedian Dieudonné. It is a mock Charlie Hebdo cover by the cartoonist Dedko.

The text says “Charlie Hebdo is ***. It does not stop bullets.” It appears quite heartless and cruel, but look at the copy of Charlie Hebdo that the person in the cartoon is holding.

It represents a real Charlie Hebdo cover that was published in July 2013, days after the military coup in Egypt. It caused outrage at the time because of its cruelty and insensitivity.

It shows an Egyptian protestor being shot through a copy of the Quran he is holding. The text says, “The Quran is ***, it doesn’t stop bullets.”

Assuming that the mock Charlie Hebdo cover is the one shared by the youth on Facebook, this incident sums up the sheer hypocrisy of France’s current national mood.

Anything mocking and denigrating Islam and Muslims is venerated as courageous free speech, while anything mocking those who engage in such denigration – even using precisely the same techniques – can get you locked up.

Wave of arrests

“A string of at least 69 arrests in France this week on the vague charge of ‘defending terrorism’ (‘l’apologie du terrorisme’) risks violating freedom of expression,” Amnesty International said in an understated press release on Friday.

“All the arrests appear to be on the basis of statements made in the aftermath of the deadly attacks against the magazine Charlie Hebdo, a kosher supermarket and security forces in Paris on 7 and 9 January,” the human rights group added.

“Some of the recently reported cases in France may cross the high threshold of expression that can legitimately be prosecuted,” Amnesty said. “Others, however offensive the statements made, do not.”

As previously reported, the most high profile arrest was of Dieudonné himself – also apparently for an ironic comment.

Many of the arrests are simply absurd, and it is impossible to imagine what purpose they could serve other than to allow the French government to look tough amid an increasingly right-wing and xenophobic political atmosphere, and to satisfy a desire in some sections of the public and media for scapegoats.

They include:

A 14-year-old girl charged with “defending terrorism.” She allegedly shouted at a tram conductor: “We are the Kouachi sisters, we’re going to grab our Kalashnikovs.” Cherif and Said Kouachi are two French brothers authorities say carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack.

A 21-year-old was caught without a ticket on a tram, and subsequently sentenced to ten months in prison for allegedly saying, “The Kouachi brothers is just the beginning; I should have been with them to kill more people,” according to Amnesty International.

In the northern city of Lille, authorities suspended three school workers for allegedly refusing to observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the attacks, and then justifying their action. One is being charged with “defending terrorism.” The accused denies that he refused to respect the minute of silence, but said he did “debate it with colleagues outside work hours.”

In Paris, one man who was drunk and another who suffers psychiatric problems were jailed for fourteen and three months respectively for “defending terrorism” for comments they made. A third was jailed for fifteen months and the court ordered that their sentences begin immediately.

In Bordeaux, police carried out a traffic stop. A very drunk 18-year-old passenger in the car allegedly hurled abuse at the police and made comments sympathetic to the Charlie Hebdo attackers. She was charged with “defending terrorism” and sentenced to 210 hours of community service. Prosecutors had asked for a four-month jail term.

In almost every case where a name is provided, those arrested would appear to be of North African ancestry – suggesting that France’s crackdown is quite targeted.

If it is not calculated to further alienate the country’s large, young population of French citizens whose parents or grandparents came from the former colonies, there’s a good chance it will do that anyway.

The cases also suggest a pattern where minor encounters with police – with drunks and youths – quickly escalate into “terrorism”-related accusations. The fact that young people of color have long complained that they are targeted by police means that they are going to be disproportionately more vulnerable.

Double standard

Amnesty says the crackdown followed a circular sent to prosecutors on 12 January by justice minister Christiane Taubira instructing them that “words or wrongdoing, hatred or contempt, uttered or committed against someone because of their religion must be fought and pursued with great vigor.”

Although they might exist, I have yet to see cases of people being charged or jailed for anti-Muslim or other kinds of racist or bigoted comments under the “defending terrorism” law.

After the attacks, prominent journalist Philippe Tesson took to the airwaves of Europe 1, one of France’s biggest radio stations, and declared that Muslims were responsible for threatening the country’s vaunted secularism.

“It’s the Muslims who bring the ***to France these days,” he said.

While a private citizen has reportedly brought a legal complaint against Tesson for “inciting racial hatred,” the authorities have not charged him with a crime.

Cécile Duflot, a Green Party legislator, noticed the discrepancy and urged that “the reaction to the foul Islamophobic words of Philippe Tesson should be much stronger.”

(Update: Le Parisien reports today, Monday, that Paris prosecutors have opened an inquiry into Tesson on suspicion of “inciting hatred”).

“Islamophobic” murder

Monitoring groups have collected reports of at least 83 Islamophobic threats and attacks in France since the Charlie Hebdo attack.

There were at least 21 incidents of shots or grenades being fired at buildings.

Police are investigating if the murder of Mohammed El Makouli, a Moroccan man in the eastern town of Beaucet, was motivated by anti-Muslim hatred.

El-Makouli was stabbed seventeen times by a neighbor who invaded his home, allegedly shouting anti-Muslim slogans. El-Makouli’s wife was injured and his young son escaped the attack.

Draconian law

It may seem surprising that French authorities can charge and jail people so quickly. These summary trials and long custodial terms are the result of a change in the law last November in which the charge of “defending terrorism” became a criminal offense subject to fast-track trials.

Last week France’s Human Rights League said that when the change in the law was being debated, it had “demonstrated that it would be ineffective for security, dangerous for liberties and damaging to the credibility of the justice system.”

The organization said that the slew of summary convictions of “drunks and fools” vindicated its warnings.

Many of these people are now likely to end up on the state’s planned “antiterrorist register.”

Prosecution for song and book

Prosecutions for expression do not take place only under the “defending terrorism” law. This week the rapper Saïdou of the band Z.E.P., and the sociologist Saïd Bouamama will be indicted in Lille for “public insult” and “incitement to discrimination, hate, or violence.”

The prosecution was brought by a right-wing nationalist group, as MR Zine reports, because of Saïd’s book *** France and a Z.E.P. song with the same title.