With the riots in Paris by Muslims entering its ninth day, the sense of a chaotic situation with no obvious end point growing out of control has become pervasive. This morning, Drudge reports on the French government's growing belief that these riots, though they may have arisen spontaneously, have been directed and coordinated by those with an interest in perpetuating the violence:
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that the riots in several Paris suburbs over the previous night were "not spontaneous" but rather "well organized."
"What we saw in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis overnight was not spontaneous, it was perfectly organized. We are looking into by whom and how," Sarkozy told French news channel i-tele.
The interior minister also said the government would not allow "troublemakers, a bunch of hoodlums, think they can do whatever they want" in the country.
Last night I consulted with Oldest Son, who, in his minimal spare time, has been monitoring the Arabic news channels for information on the riots. The Arabic BBC has essentially reported the situation in similar terms as the English BBC. The Arabic al Jazeera does not expand on the coverage in a meaningful way, however...
Oldest Son reminded me that not too long ago the French took a stand against their dhimmitude and for their beloved secularism, when they banned the hijalb in public schools. At the time there was a predictable reaction of pained victimhood by the radical Islamists living in the Parisian Muslim ghettos and threats of reprisals by various Islamists and their sympathizers.
Furthermore, we hear from multiple sources that there are al Qaeda cells throughout Europe, especially in France, where almost 10% of the population is Muslim.
Putting the two and two (and two) together, it is not at all a stretch to imagine that there are people who are taking advantage of the spontaneous spark provided by the electrocution death of the two young Muslim men a week ago to set off a well orchestrated European Intifada. It is perhaps no accident that the rioters are using the same language that the Palestinians use to justify their violence and their rage; from Amir Taheri today:
With cries of "God is great," bands of youths armed with whatever they could get hold of went on a rampage and forced the police to flee.
The French authorities could not allow a band of youths to expel the police from French territory. So they hit back — sending in Special Forces, known as the CRS, with armored cars and tough rules of engagement.
Within hours, the original cause of the incidents was forgotten and the issue jelled around a demand by the representatives of the rioters that the French police leave the "occupied territories." By midweek, the riots had spread to three of the provinces neighboring Paris, with a population of 5.5 million.
And there is this from Taheri:
Some are even calling for the areas where Muslims form a majority of the population to be reorganized on the basis of the "millet" system of the Ottoman Empire: Each religious community (millet) would enjoy the right to organize its social, cultural and educational life in accordance with its religious beliefs.
In parts of France, a de facto millet system is already in place. In these areas, all women are obliged to wear the standardized Islamist "hijab" while most men grow their beards to the length prescribed by the sheiks.
The radicals have managed to chase away French shopkeepers selling alcohol and pork products, forced "places of sin," such as dancing halls, cinemas and theaters, to close down, and seized control of much of the local administration.
A reporter who spent last weekend in Clichy and its neighboring towns of Bondy, Aulnay-sous-Bois and Bobigny heard a single overarching message: The French authorities should keep out.
"All we demand is to be left alone," said Mouloud Dahmani, one of the local "emirs" engaged in negotiations to persuade the French to withdraw the police and allow a committee of sheiks, mostly from the Muslim Brotherhood, to negotiate an end to the hostilities.
The French have very little left of their identity that instills pride in them, but secularism has maintained pride of place among the ideas that motivate the soft power socialism of thew French elites. Their attempt to assert their values has gone up in flames; the Islamists have answered the French demand with demands oft heir own. This is very likely to opening round of a long term struggle for the soul and identity of Europe. Even if calm eventually prevails and the status quo ante resumes, the situation can not have any long term stability. The French authorities had already abandoned the Muslim areas and stood with the tyrants and Islamic fascists against the American led coalition, yet this hasn't protected them and won't save them in the future; the writ of the Islamists has to grow, it is inevitable and inherent in their ideology and the clashes will become more frequent and, likely, more violent as time goes on.
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