“What would induce the citizens of a prosperous and peaceful country to leave for an increasingly impoverished and violent living hell? Why would anyone exchange France for Syria?” The answer is clear: it is the call of jihad, the attraction of performing what many Muslims believe is the highest and best duty one can perform before Allah, in line with words attributed to Muhammad: a man once asked him: “Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward).” Muhammad replied, “I do not find such a deed.” (Bukhari 4.52.44).
Many Western secularists simply cannot comprehend the power of a religious appeal. This is the cause of a great deal of myopia and incorrect analysis.
“Liberté, Egalité, Jihad,” by Theodore Dalrymple in the City Journal, January 21:
What would induce the citizens of a prosperous and peaceful country to leave for an increasingly impoverished and violent living hell? Why would anyone exchange France for Syria?
The French Ministry of the Interior is concerned that the number of French citizens going to Syria to participate in jihad has increased recently, and it fears what they might do when they return home. So far, 18 French jihadis have been killed in Syria, 70 have returned, and 220 (four times as any as in May 2013) are thought to be on the ground there. Another 200 to 300 might be preparing to go. About 80 percent are of North African descent, usually young men who ignored the precepts of their ancestral religion and indulged in debauchery until they were “born again” into a life of puritanical fanaticism. The other 20 percent are French converts.
Libération, the left-wing French newspaper, recently carried an interesting interview with the mother of one such convert, Nicolas Bons, alias Abu Abdel Rahman, 30, who died in a suicide bombing in Syria. She has started an organization dedicated to preventing more departures for Syria among young Frenchmen. Nicolas’s paternal half-brother, Jean-Daniel, aged 22, another convert to Islam, also went to Syria, where he was killed in August 2013 in a confrontation with Bashar al-Assad’s army. Shortly before, in July 2013, both half-brothers appeared in a YouTube video bearing Kalashnikovs, exhorting Muslims to come fight in Syria and urging French president François Hollande to convert to Islam.
A few weeks ago, Madame Bons received a text message on her phone: “Your son Nicolas has taken part in an operation with a truck-bomb in an enemy village in the region of Homs. May God accept him as a martyr.” Madame Bons managed to call the message’s sender; a man speaking French told her that her son was henceforth in paradise under the protection of Allah. According to Madame Bons, prior to his conversion Nicolas had said that “he didn’t want to live in a society based on profit and consumption. He couldn’t stand injustice. For him, everyone was exploited. He didn’t want to be exploited. It was for this reason that he didn’t want to work.”
As it happens, I treated a number of patients who refused to work for the same reason. They believed that, under the current system, they would never receive the full value of their labor. It never occurred to them that, since they continued to consume—however much they might disapprove of the consumption of others—they must be exploiting someone, whether taxpayers or their parents. “[Nicolas] was very interested in what happened in the Middle East,” said his mother. “What Israel did to the Palestinians. What Bashar al-Assad did to his people. He wanted to help all these people.”
So he blew himself up in “an enemy village”—most helpful. Never was feeble ratiocination so completely mixed with moral grandiosity. Here is the reductio ad absurdum of May 1968.
More precisely, it’s the reductio ad absurdum of Arabia, circa 630AD.

Salah says
“She has started an organization dedicated to preventing more departures for Syria among young Frenchmen. ”
That’ the wrong approach. Instead, she should ask the french government to never allow the return of french jihadists.
We need to be on the offensive. We need to grom some spine, some balls.
Jon Sobieski says
…For him, everyone was exploited. He didn’t want to be exploited. It was for this reason that he didn’t want to WORK.” LOL Now that is classic liberal thinking. If you don’t work and don’t have wealth, don’t you need to exploit someone (the govt welfare system, the taxpayers, rob someone) to ‘make do’ ????
Davegreybeard says
It’s 1939, and all the boys are practicing with their toys for the “Big Game” to come – soon.
Charli Main says
and where are these” French/British citizens” learning about Jihad ???
In the Mosques and Madrassas that are springing up like mushrooms in the countries that have taken in these Muslims and given them a home.
Mosques and Madrassas that are being paid for and financially supported by the host country.
Put more clearly, the French and British Governments are paying for Muslim hate schools, where Muslims can be indoctrinated in Jihad and learn how to rape and murder their own citizens.
Peter Buckley says
Here is an excellent article on how young these jihadists are, and how they are coming from so many European countries:
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4139/european-jihadists-syria
I recommend subscribing to the Gatestone Institute, particularly for its exposes on the “Palestinian Question”:
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4137/kerry-peace-process-wishful-thinkers
JamesonRocks says
“It never occurred to them that, since they continued to consume—however much they might disapprove of the consumption of others—they must be exploiting someone, whether taxpayers or their parents. ”
Looks like this dumb fool Nicholas met his final exploitation at the hands of his own Moossies. What a moron… Well, at least the French won’t need to worry about this one returning.
RCCA says
Since we lose our bodies after we die and exist as in a non corporeal state as souls in divine bliss or torment what would be the value of sexual intercourse after death? In the context of “religious” people claiming that sex exists “naturally” for reproduction (and therefore homosexual sex is evil because it doesn’t serve G-d’s purpose) is the Muslim view that in heaven sex exists solely for physical pleasure? There is no reproduction in heaven according to Muslims, is there?
Just curious…
Jay G says
To RCCA: There must be reproduction in heaver–otherwise, where would all the virgins come from for those killed in jhad; those killed in suicide bombings against those who believe in the wrong form of Islam; those killed in homicides against humans; etc.
gravenimage says
Number of French citizens going to Syria to wage jihad has quadrupled since May 2013
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What they means is “Number of Muslims who have enveigled French citizenship…”
More:
“Liberté, Egalité, Jihad,” by Theodore Dalrymple in the City Journal
…………………………..
An aside—it was due to a link to a Theodore Dalrymple story back in 2006 that I discovered Jihad Watch.
Dalrymple is pretty clear-eyed when it comes to understanding Jihad.
More:
What would induce the citizens of a prosperous and peaceful country to leave for an increasingly impoverished and violent living hell? Why would anyone exchange France for Syria?
…………………………..
Actually, it’s even worse than that—these pious Muslims would turn civilized France into Syria is they can.
More:
Libération, the left-wing French newspaper, recently carried an interesting interview with the mother of one such convert, Nicolas Bons, alias Abu Abdel Rahman, 30, who died in a suicide bombing in Syria.
…………………………..
The French shouldn’t try to stop them from going on Jihad—just their coming back in…
More:
Shortly before, in July 2013, both half-brothers appeared in a YouTube video bearing Kalashnikovs, exhorting Muslims to come fight in Syria and urging French president François Hollande to convert to Islam.
…………………………..
And we all know that an attack is likely to follow such an “invitation” to Islam. What if these Jihadists had returned to France?
More:
A few weeks ago, Madame Bons received a text message on her phone: “Your son Nicolas has taken part in an operation with a truck-bomb in an enemy village in the region of Homs. May God accept him as a martyr.” Madame Bons managed to call the message’s sender; a man speaking French told her that her son was henceforth in paradise under the protection of Allah. According to Madame Bons, prior to his conversion Nicolas had said that “he didn’t want to live in a society based on profit and consumption. He couldn’t stand injustice. For him, everyone was exploited. He didn’t want to be exploited. It was for this reason that he didn’t want to work.”
…………………………..
Good God, what crap. He found civilized France “exploitative”, so he converted to a creed *based* on the exploitation and enslavement of Infidels.
He eshewed work and a career, but was finde going overseas to murder people.
*These* are the sorts of losers who are attracted to Islam…
More:
As it happens, I treated a number of patients who refused to work for the same reason. They believed that, under the current system, they would never receive the full value of their labor. It never occurred to them that, since they continued to consume—however much they might disapprove of the consumption of others—they must be exploiting someone, whether taxpayers or their parents.
…………………………..
Yup…
More:
“[Nicolas] was very interested in what happened in the Middle East,” said his mother. “What Israel did to the Palestinians. What Bashar al-Assad did to his people. He wanted to help all these people.”
So he blew himself up in “an enemy village”—most helpful. Never was feeble ratiocination so completely mixed with moral grandiosity. Here is the reductio ad absurdum of May 1968.
…………………………..
So depressingly true.
More:
More precisely, it’s the reductio ad absurdum of Arabia, circa 630AD.
…………………………..
Actually, this madness is the conflation between the two. These morons would not be such a threat if it were not for PC/MC and the self-hatred of so many in the West.
Rose S says
Take away their French citizenship…don’t allow them to return to France.
HERKEY ANDERSON says
GO ! FIGHT! DIE! WE WILL NOT CRY! JUST DONT LET THEM BACK IN!