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| Europe |
| Nationalist Bombers target Corsica's Arabs |
| 2004-09-26 |
| From the Times online. Non-UK readers have to jump through hoops (and pay) to read the article online, I believe. Couldn't establish a link to article, but if you search for "Corsica" here, you'll find a hyperlink. Slightly EFL. As Mohammed surveyed the wreckage of his Middle Eastern grocery store in the Corsican city of Bastia, he found an undamaged couscous maker from Turkey. "We sell a lot of these," he said, holding up the box. Not any more, writes Matthew Campbell. A terrorist bomb has put Mohammed out of business. He and Malika, his wife, were born in Corsica but are preparing to flee a wave of violence against the island's Arabs. "If we reopen the shop," he said, "they will bomb it again." He was referring to Corsican nationalists who have threatened "physically to eliminate" men such as Mohammed. An Arab petrol station manager was murdered by masked gunmen this month and the next day a Moroccan consular official narrowly escaped death in his car when an explosives detonator malfunctioned. "Things here started to get really bad after the bombings in Spain," said Mohammed, referring to the attacks in Madrid on March 11 in which 191 people were killed and several Moroccans were arrested as suspects. "They (the nationalists) think that we are all terrorists." The violence against Arabs in Corsica is worse than elsewhere in France or in other European countries plagued by racial tensions. There are fears, nevertheless, that the Corsican example may herald what is to come elsewhere in response to immigration. The Corsican bombers allege that traditions are under pressure in the mountainous Mediterranean island popular with British tourists. After an attack on an Arab bank in July they issued a statement claiming the violence had a precise goal: "To stop the immigration that for too many years has gnawed at this island." The statement, by a group calling itself Corsi Clandestini, warned Arabs would be "hit in their homes" and that those who resisted would be "physically eliminated". Police are treating the murder of Mohamed El Gouy at his petrol station on September 17 as another racist attack. Protesters gathered the next day asking the government to intervene but local politicians, fearful of ending up on a hitlist, have avoided the issue. Corsica has always shown hostility to outsiders and a violent independence campaign has been waged by nationalists against Paris since the 1960s. In the first seven months of this year, however, 10 out of 115 bombings were directed at Arabs and eight of those, say police, were accompanied by racist graffiti and claimed by shadowy racist groups. The Corsican Arab population has grown dramatically in the past three decades and simmering anti-Arab sentiment erupted after September 11. Many Arabs are leaving for southern France. |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #19 Mrs Davis, What you are claiming is simply delusion and baseless. The situation in the Arab world is no different than the majority of non-western countries, and much better than many 3rd world countries. Dubai (UAE) for instance is much cleaner and much more organized than Tel-Aviv (Israel). Standard of living in the the UAE is in fact higher than in Israel. In many Arab Gulf states, foreign workers constitute at least 30% of the population, but they still get full generous state social benefits such as free health care, free utilites, free education, etc. UAE might not make fighter planes or rockets, but the fact that they extend their social programs to foreigners does really tell something. Check your facts before spewing your racist bs. Israel is not responsible for all the 3rd world countries on the planet (no one ever said that), but it certainly is responsible for creating a dangerous and hostile geo-political situation in the Middle East. Because American policies support the apartheid Israeli regime, it became easy for Arabs to blame America. After all, Europe stopped selling weapons to Israel along time ago. The Israeli fundamentalists are not going anywhere, they are still going to be in the Arab's backyard. If those lunatic-fundamentalists believe 6 million can beat over 200 million people forever, they are as delusional as you are. What W is doing in Iraq is what Saddam attempted to do a decade ago before he became a dictator. He took over power through force, and believed he was going to be the "savior of Iraq". Bush's war has cost Iraq at least 10,000 innocent civilian deaths. That's the price for Saddam's capture. Don't think the Arabs are not watching. In the old days (British days), you could kill thousands and no one would know except the victims. Today it is different. The Arab world has at least 120 satellite TVs, and they are all watching this madness and killings. There is an Arab saying that goes like this: "Dont throw stones at a house of glass" |
| Posted by: Moroccan Arab 2004-10-15 7:18:57 PM |
| #18 Moroccan Arab, You are wrong. If the Israelis disappeared, nothing would change with the Arabs, except that they would be blaming your failure on something else. Arabs have a failed culture. Failure politically, failure economically, failure intellectually, failure morally. The frustration is the result of being unable to throw off the chains of a culture of failure. The Israelis did not bind the Arabs in failure, the Arabs did it to themselves. Your best hope is that W can succeed in Iraq, because if he doesn't, you will spend the next century as you have the last 8, as failures. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-14 7:57:37 PM |
| #17 Dood, relax and get a real religion. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-14 7:56:16 PM |
| #16 teeevee is maker a mcvayt outta me |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-10-14 7:52:34 PM |
| #15 What a load of racist semi-fascist ignorant comments. The ignorant-uneducated people who claim that Muslims in general did not condemn sep-11 or madrid bombings simply live in their delusional ignorant world. The Corsicans have been blowing things (Police stations, French vacation houses etc) up in Corsica for over a decade, but I can bet that none of you ignorant uneducated semi-fascists ever heard of them until recently. And to the last ignorant Asedwich, what religion do you think the French from mainland (that the Corsicans have targeted for a decade) are? All of you made apologic comments for those criminal attacks against innocent people (the Moroccan immigrants). While there certainly is a problem with the Muslim extremists ideology, it is neither supported by official Islamic institutions, nor financed by Muslim states. Bin-Laden and his gang never was recognized as a religious authority, and Saudi Arabia has stripped Bin-Laden of his citizenship way before sep-11. While OBL and his gang are religious fundamentalists, those people are in fact engaged in a political war, not a religious one. Bin-Laden and his gang have not asked any of you ignorants to convert or live by their fundamentalist ways, but Laden often speaks of simple POLITICS. The politics of US foreign policy that most of the world agrees that it is misguided and dangerous. When Bin-Laden says that US foreign policy has killed many Muslims (Palestinian problem, Iraq sanctions, etc), how do you respond to that? How do you respond to the fact that OBL chose to attack America and not Canada for instance? Most of American's problems with the Arab world is directly related to Israeli support. The Arab world can't do anything if people are sick of watching depressing news from palestine for over 30 years, some people will get crazy and lose their mind. It is like McVeight. |
| Posted by: Moroccan Arab 2004-10-14 7:45:00 PM |
| #14 Zenster: I'd like to point out that while Sock Puppet omitted the necessary connection of "arab" and "muslim," he likewise didn't have anything bad to say about Arab Christians, Arab Jews, etc. That's why he said: "I have a feeling if these Arabs were Catholic this would not be happening." That's NOT xenophobia. |
| Posted by: Asedwich 2004-09-27 2:28:18 AM |
| #13 When I was there back in the 70s, Malta had the coolest buses anywhere. That's right, buses. The buses were the familiar European makes but, apparently because of tariffs, the bodywork was locally built. Most of the buses were driver-owned and had bodies custom-built to the driver's specifications. Many of these reflected the styling gimcrackery of 1950s vintage American cars; tail fins, garish quad headlights, fake exhaust ports, and tons of chrome. Styles have been toned down in recent years, but some of these gloriously uninhibited old vehicles are still in operation. I have a picture of one, but my webhosting server has gone left for now. I'll try to post it later. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-09-27 12:18:44 AM |
| #12 Speaking of Mediterranean islanders... I have a feeling if these Arabs were Catholic this would not be happening. Technically, SPoD, you're right. Depending on how broadly "Arab" is defined, then the Maltese qualify as Catholic Arabs. And surprise, surprise ... Malta sounds like a pretty nice country. Admittedly they're a wee bit too old-fashioned for me (even divorce is still illegal), and the island is supposedly getting a little too crowded. But hey ... at least they're not boomers. (And English is a co-official language thanks to the Brits.) |
| Posted by: The Caucasus Nerd 2004-09-26 9:30:44 PM |
| #11 Sock Puppet, I beg to disagree for an Arab no matter what kind (christian, mooselimb, or whatever) the most important thing is Arab Nationalism, if they can use Islam to further their ends then they will take the name of Islam too, usually to enlist more help from people who can actually fight, but like always those people always remain objects of contempt. They enlist Christian arabs for help regularly as in Palestine and Leabnon and Iraq and those are always a cut above any non arabs in their ranks even mooselimbs. I have read a lot about the heady 60's and UAR with communism as their guide, and they fought alongside the Brits against Turks eventough Turks were mooselimbs. Doesnt it remind you of a certain movement in Germany. |
| Posted by: Fawad 2004-09-26 8:57:56 PM |
| #10 Gee, I'm real, um, broken hearted about this. Yeah... |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2004-09-26 8:40:35 PM |
| #9 SPoD, I'm obliged to take issue with you. What you call "the realization that these people need to get back to 'arab' lands" is nothing but indiscriminate xenophobia. This is specifically why I clarified in my first post about assimilation. Muslims who cannot assimilate to the extent whereby they too share mutual feelings of disgust at terrorist atrocities, like so much of the world does, definitely need to go back or be deported to their countries of origin. Anyone of any race or creed that makes an earnest effort to adopt the recognized mores of civilization in their new country's culture deserves an honest chance to begin a new life. It is crucial to embrace those Muslims who make this vital leap of departure from the enclave mentality that so many Arab cultures foster. This represents one of the only ways that moderate Muslims will be encouraged not to drift towards militant Islam. If the remaining world permits itself to descend into puerile xenophobia, then some mild degree of the jihadist's intentions will have been fulfilled for them. We must not let this happen. Otherwise, this will become a religious war and it will be against Islam as a whole. Rest assured that I have lost nearly all patience with the doctrinal wing of Islam's scholars. The vast majority of these influential spokesmen for Islam's united voice continue to espouse nothing but hatred and militancy, to the great detriment of their entire religion. We have a very short window of time available to peacefully demonstrate just how wrong these treacherous imams and mullahs are. Islam seems oblivious to how only a few more 9-11 and 3-11 atrocities will justifiably close this window so that the real jihad can begin. Namely, the one against all Islam. As civilized human beings, we must try not to condemn such a huge segment of this earth's population without fair trial. It is incumbent upon all thinking people to make a genuine attempt at extending the olive branch to Islam. Should Muslims choose to spit upon all further peace offerings, then let the cleansing begin. But we must first make the effort so that there is no doubt these avenues were explored first. Again, I have only the dimmest of hopes that Islam will recognize the dire peril that militant Muslims have placed their entire religion in. The jihadists are quite successfully polarizing the entire world against not just their militant cause, but all Islamic causes. Somehow, they seem to forget who owns all of the nuclear weapons and advanced tools of war. It is this willful oversight that will quite possibly cost nearly every Muslim on earth their life. All courtesy of the Islamic terrorists. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-26 8:38:18 PM |
| #8 Corsican = French + Balls Don't mention that to a Corsican. You'd probably have your neatly-diced tongue handed back to you. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-09-26 8:36:35 PM |
| #7 I have a feeling if these Arabs were Catholic this would not be happening. Everyone knows but will not say it. Arabs are loyal in the extreme to the groups in the following order: (a) Religion (Islam a muslim must never speak against another muslim. A muslim must support Jihad. ) (b)Family (a good thing) (c)Tribe (passed up by history) (d)Nation (yes the bottom of the list) So these Corsicans who are no dummies have this almost right. Burning folks out is not good. Blowing them up is not good . But the realization that these people need to get back to "arab" lands is right. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-09-26 7:39:53 PM |
| #6 Actually, that is the problem too, muslims never blame themselves (99.998%), it is always someone else's fault. Need I add how if Islam cannot be bothered to blame itself, that we'll find a way to do it for them? I GUESS I DID. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-26 7:24:11 PM |
| #5 What goes around, comes around. The purpose of terror is to partisanize and divide, causing greater conflict. Islamic terrorists want world-wide jihad and they're slowly getting it. Best course for us - kill the guilty, keep an eye on those not definitely known to be guilty. |
| Posted by: Anonymous6655 2004-09-26 6:24:55 PM |
| #4 "And it will only have itself to blame." Actually, that is the problem too, muslims never blame themselves (99.998%), it is always someone else's fault. |
| Posted by: Zarathustra 2004-09-26 4:29:36 PM |
| #3 âThings here started to get really bad after the bombings in Spain,â said Mohammed, referring to the attacks in Madrid on March 11 in which 191 people were killed and several Moroccans were arrested as suspects. âThey (the nationalists) think that we are all terrorists.â It is critical to note that the sort of anti-Arab violence mentioned in this article is a band-aid solution. It is not just reprehensible conduct, but a treating of symptoms and not the real disease. As the world begins to reorient itself into a global community, coexistence will have to be accepted. That said, so long as Arab immigrants do not assimilate into their adopted cultures, they can only look forward to more of this same violent xenophobia. The key trigger for much of this centers upon the congenital Arab inability to actively condemn terrorism and noticeably agitate against it. As N Guard so aptly pointed out, that's where the 8 year-old kid in so many of us assumes a vindictive posture. At some point Mohammed needs to realize that silence is consent. Any tacit acceptance of terrorism effectively condones it. I am obliged to wonder how many Corsican Arabs would have been attacked had they loudly and prominently protested early on against the terrorist attacks in America, Bali and Europe. All Arab people everywhere are placed in extreme danger by Islamic terrorism. It is only the restraint of outside civilization that has yet to make this any more clear. What's more, Islam itself as a putative religion is also direly imperiled by terrorism. The thundering silence of so many Muslims regarding terrorist atrocities will inexorably lead the remaining world to conclude that Islam is a political ideology and not any sort of faith. Once that transition of perception happens, Islam will begin to be dismantled through legal apparatus, force of arms or simple vigilante activism. And it will only have itself to blame. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-09-26 2:47:59 PM |
| #2 If they are so inclined they can use the stinking corsican cheese and achieve the same results. Corsican = French + Balls. Way to go |
| Posted by: Fawad 2004-09-26 2:05:11 PM |
| #1 Let me state up front that this (expletive deleted) must be stopped. Period. We are NOT muslims and don't need to sink to their level. That being said, there's a nasty little 8 year old boy in me that is saying something along the lines of "How do you like them apples, Jihadi-san? Think your fellow terrorists are so great now?". |
| Posted by: N Guard 2004-09-26 2:02:06 PM |