From Jamie Glazov's interview with John J. Miller, coauthor of Our Oldest Enemy: A History of America's Disastrous Relationship with France, at FrontPage:
FP: Let’s talk a little bit about the Islamization of France. We’ve got native French girls in certain communities, where Muslims are the majority, that now wear the veil because of the frequent occurrence of physical harassment, attack and rape. What’s going on here?Miller: There are now about 5 million Muslims in France. They’re roughly 8 percent of the population. They’re a growing population, too. If current demographic trends hold, France could be a majority-Muslim country sometime this century. Unlike the United States, France does not have a proven tradition of assimilating large numbers of foreign-born people into its national traditions. As a result, we see the French struggling with how to integrate these newcomers. Their policies often badly misfire, as with the current attempt to ban headscarves from public schools--a senseless whack at religious expression that tends to generate resentment rather than promote French patriotism. No matter how the French address this matter, there’s no getting around the fact that France’s Muslims will have an increasingly large influence on French politics--and potentially provide Chirac and his crowd with a new electoral incentive to oppose American policies in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Some scary views about France:
http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200409300813.asp
We've been hearing a lot about no-go areas in Iraq. Well, just to put the matter into perspective, here is some data on no-go areas in France. (I'm obliged to Jerry Pournelle for pointing me to this.)
In Le Figaro daily dated Feb 1, 2002, Lucienne Bui Trong, a criminologist working for the French government's Renseignements Generaux (General Intelligence — a mix of FBI and secret service), complains that the survey system she had created for accurately denumbering the Muslim no-go zones was dismantled by the government. She wrote: 'From 106 hot points in 1991, we went to 818 sensitive areas in 1999. That's for the whole country. These data were not politically correct.' Since she comes from a Vietnamese background, Ms. Bui Trong cannot be suspected of racism, of course, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to start this survey in the first place.
The term she uses, 'sensitive area,' is the PC euphemism for these places where anything representing a Western institution (post office truck, firemen, even mail order delivery firms, and of course cops) is routinely ambushed with Molotov cocktails, and where war weapons imported from the Muslim part of Yugoslavia are routinely found.
The number 818 is from 2002. I'd go out on a limb and venture that it hasn't decreased in two years.
Note the French govt's response to these unpleasant statistics — they stopped collecting the statistics!
Another reason why the USA and Britain have so much in common - the french are our oldest enemy too. One of the main reasons that the french hate us Brits is because we hammered them at Waterloo, Agincourt and Crecy, helped save their sorry butts in WW1 and WW2, had a bigger empire than them and have a more successful language than them. As for culture, Anglo-American music has swept the world leaving france a musical bywater, the Italians do food and fashion better than the french, and in all other cultural genres the french are sadly living off past glories. No wonder the french find so much in common with the Arab world - they're both bitter and resentful at being left behind in the march of history, both seek to blame America for all the world's problems and both are in arrogant denial about their own failings. islam and france - a match made in ...
SoA, that was beautiful. Brought a tear to my eye.
Rather than scoring over 'old enemies', we should be perturbed about rising Islamic trends in hitherto non-Islamic States e.g Roman Catholic France! I personally detest Chirac - Jack the Rat who has lined his pockets for years at the expense of French People. Also his Pro-ARAB POLICIES which are disastrous for France. Never forget this was also the home of CHARLES MARTEL,CHARLEMAGNE and JEANNE d'ARC, just wish there was one of these heroes aound today - otherwise America and the U.K will have to save their butts AGAIN!!
As the old saying goes... "sow the wind, reap the whirlwind".
Morgane:
I have to agree with you. Despite our difficult relations with France, the loss of France to Islam would be a very great strategic loss. France has inordinate influence in Europe. As a consequence Belgium, Holland and even Germany may go under. Britain would yet again standing alone, but in a far worse position then in 1939. The reason being that we a have a virulent muslim population here as well.
Freeing the continent will definitely be much harder this time round as muslims are bonded in faith. That was not the case in 1939 where the majority of Europeans were not allied to Nazism in a bond of death as islam holds its adherents.
In this context, loss of France would be catastrophic for Britain and the US, and the world as a whole in the long term. Islam will have won worldwide. Once France is lost, it’s lost for good.
Prevention is the only hope.
My hope is that the anti-hijab legislation is a trial step to see what ensues. If it turns out to be a failure, then France will have no alternative but to save its self by any means whatever. In situations of self-preservation, international law does not apply.
DP111
When do you think that armed resistance to Islam in France should begin?
Voltaire:
It is a hope. That is all. Given the current dhimmification of Europe and America, it may well be a forlorn one.
After 9/11, Bali, Madrid and the events in Beslan, one would have though that the true message of islam would be apparent to all. Yet the mantra of 'Islam is peace' persists. It is as if our societies as a whole, are in a hypnotic trance of sorts, from which they willingly do not wish to wake up from.
So here we are, hoping for the worst, in the hope that the worst will wake us up.
So here we are, hoping for the worst, in the hope that the worst will wake us up. DP111
I'm glad that you said that. I don't feel so guilty in hoping that things do get worse, so that the west wakes up and sees Islam for what it really is.
Armed resistance in France or anywhere in Europe? As Europeans abhor weapons and have strict gun laws, only criminals and revolutionaries have weapons. The general population doesn't have a chance. Too bad that Canada has the same problem. More reason for us to hold on to our weapons in the States.
Well the time may come when the french will take the likes of chirac to the bastille and the old giulotines will be restored.
But first they will have to deal with their left wing intellectuals, today's equivalent of the courtier buffoons of pre revolution days.
They have weakened france and have left it defenceless.
And then there is the endless corruption of government and public company officials , who have pocketed the wealth offered by the givers of poison apples.
In the end the french will take to the streets as they did in 1789 and the blood will flow again.
It is a grave error to bury the dark side of human nature so deeply that it cannot be retrieved when desparately need for survival.
Drop the "oldest enemy" bit. Whatever we Americans owe to Britain--and I for one admit it's a lot, even though I have only about one -quarter or less British descent (and that's Scottish)--we are no longer part of the people and country that fought at Agincourt and Crecy. Also, changed circumstances will, before long, convince most of the French that Jack the Rat's brain is riddled with old-fashioned notions of the most powerful country inevitably being dangerous (it's why he's joined the anti-US bandwagon--and why Le Grand Charlot was "sort-of" opposed to the Soviet Union after WWII).
My own guess is that should France's Muslims continue to radicalize, they will provoke a very large anti-Islamic backlash--a hint of which we got when Le Pen edged out Jospin in an election.
Also, the fact that non-Muslim French do not rise in protest when their daughters have to adopt Islamic dress when they go out suggests that by such volutnary dhimmitude, France assures the rest of the world that it simply doesn't count as a power. Sure, it's got nuclear weapons; but so do a lot of others.
Morgane, george
Though it may seem that France is lost to Islam, I have hope that France will recover. This view rests on the belief that the French have a very strong sense of French identity. It is not just the language but far more then that. The French are also well known for their iconoclastic views (obstinacy), when it comes to what is France. I expect that this will eventually see them through.
I have far greater fears for the so-called Anglo-sphere group of nations. Here, the concept of what constitutes this culture,in the minds of the general population, is not so clear-cut. Multi-culturalism has clouded the issue even further. These nations are also founded on the principle of compromise when values are in opposition. Now such a culture as ours has inherent advantages, as it limits the opportunities for recurring major civil wars and revolutions. But in this war, a compromise with islamic demands, will lead to ever increasing demands and yet more compromises at our cost.
This cultural difference between the Anglo-sphere and France manifests itself in the practical and political world. It is manifest in the way we allow all manner of islamic practices to take hold, just because muslims demand it, as compromise is the way we work. Over in France, the French state set out quite clearly that the hijab would not be allowed in schools. This sets the bar and prevents any muslim to even think that they can send islamic literature to state schools, as is happening in Britain and the US.
This very strong sense of French identity combined with French obduracy, is likely to lead to a major conflict in France, much like the bloody revolutions France has had. We in the Anglo-sphere OTH, are likely to continue with endless compromises at our cost and detriment.
DPP
This sets the bar and prevents any muslim to even think that they can send islamic literature to state schools, as is happening in Britain and the US.
A very valid point which i had overlooked.
The Banning of the Hijab is in essence a pre-emtive move to stall further demands. The invasion of the minds of young french children with a "sanitized" or revisionist islam would be a tragedy for france.
This closing of the gates, is of course the main reason for the huge protests.
Still one cringes at the thought of the death of French culture, which no one can deny is monumental.
Bat ye'or places the blame directly at the feet of french politicians who "signed" with the devil in the seventies to guarantee french oils supplies and ME contracts.
In the seme way that America went to bed with its mortal enemy against the soviet union in afghanistan, did the french do the same to distance itself from America ?
Do not forget Boumedienne's promise to the french people!