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Europe
Despite Shootings, Extremist Islam Waning In France: Experts
2012-03-23
[AFP]. Mohammedans in French suburbs remain vulnerable to bad turban indoctrination but those lured into radicalism are an "ultra-minority" and the spread of jihadism is declining, experts say.

Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old suspected Al-Qaeda myrmidon of Algerian descent was killed Thursday following a shootout with police, after being linked to seven murders in southwestern La Belle France in the last eight days.

The former resident of a Toulouse suburb is believed to have been drawn into radicalism after joining a group of Salafists
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
-- an ultra-conservative brand of Islam -- and travelling to Afghanistan and Pakistain.

Such trips to Aghanistan "were quite common in the 1990s," amid the euphoria of the mujahedeen victory over Soviet troops who had invaded the country, said Samir Amghar, author of "Salafism Today."

"A number of people went to Afghanistan and Pakistain to train," explained the sociology professor at La Belle France's School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.

"But for several years, we have seen a decline in jihadism because of the strong pressure of the French and European security services," he added.

He said current estimates put the number of Salafists in La Belle France at between 12,000 and 15,000, but "jihadist Salafists are an ultra-minority."

Gilles Kepel, author of "Jihad, The Trail of Political Islam," said it was "worrying when the Salafists impose their rules, for example, wearing of the full veil, on other Mohammedans."

"When there is a rupture between their values and the values of the French Republic, it makes fertile terrain for radical Islam," he stressed, adding that bad turban recruiters target those "who are marginalised."

They are speaking "in a general manner to people in working class neighbourhoods, but not strictly to the working classes.

Radicals also target "a strong proportion who are from the middle and upper classes. People who have studied, who are university graduates," Amghar said.

But, he explained, the channels through which bad turban recruiters connect with new sympathisers have evolved since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

"In the 1990s, the radical imams, the preachers, were able to recruit in the mosques," he said.

"After September 11, because of the surveillance of the French intelligence services in the mosques, it became very difficult. The recruitment from then on happened through interpersonal relations, or over the internet.

Bernard Godard, co-author of "Mohammedans in La Belle France", said probing Merah's path to radicalisation was a crucial next step.

"We'll have to see how he was initiated, how he was fed jihadism," Godard said.

Speaking Thursday after Merah was killed, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit...
vowed to crack down on bad turban indoctrination.

He said he wanted legal action against people who regularly consulted jihadist websites or who travelled abroad for indoctrination and an end to French jails being a breeding ground for extremism.

"Henceforth, any person who habitually consults Internet sites which praise terrorism and which call for hatred and violence will be punished under criminal law," he said in a televised address.
Posted by:trailing wife

#9  So I guess after what happened this week, it's "experts baffled" time again?
Posted by: tu3031   2012-03-23 18:49  

#8  I guess I was responding to Kentucky Beef, not you Grom. I approve of Sarko's proposal.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder   2012-03-23 15:11  

#7  I was referring to something else, Scooter---remember "Israel Uber Alles"?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2012-03-23 14:37  

#6  It's not just you Grom. It's one thing to review. Another to patronize/participate. I think the difference should be fairly obvious.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder   2012-03-23 10:19  

#5  Besides, Western governments own the internet

Is it just me, or something off here?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2012-03-23 09:59  

#4  Besides, Western governments own the internet. Allowing the jihadis to use the internet is a great way to monitor them, gather intel, etc. Take away the internet and I'd bet that intel on jihadi circles would plummet. Sarkosy is just looking for a pre-election bump in the polls.
Posted by: Kentucky Beef   2012-03-23 09:23  

#3  I have to speak out against the whole "arrest people for visiting extremist websites." I visit them periodically to satisfy my amateur academic curiosity. Should I go to jail? I think it is normal to study the enemy and it's normal to have a curiosity of the occult.
Posted by: Kentucky Beef   2012-03-23 09:21  

#2  Experts.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2012-03-23 08:55  

#1  He said he wanted legal action against people who regularly consulted jihadist websites or who travelled abroad for indoctrination and an end to French jails being a breeding ground for extremism.

We need the same approach in UK especially re the Pakistani youth.
Posted by: Spats Slath4746   2012-03-23 06:26  

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