This news report is somewhat unclear. It seems as if the French are only directing this effort against Muslims planning to join the jihad in Syria, but they may also be planning to direct it against Muslims who want to wage jihad at home. In any case, it is extremely noteworthy that Hollande spoke about this during the official opening of an exhibit dedicated to the pilgrimage to Mecca, and that the plan apparently refers explicitly to “jihad,” and not just to “radical violent extremism” or one of the many other euphemisms that U.S. officials use to avoid offending Muslims. The Hollande government, despite the fact that he was elected by Muslims who were angered by Sarkozy’s counter-terror efforts, seems to be breaking ranks with the rest of the West in speaking honestly about the reality of jihad violence. We’ll see how long it lasts.
“France: Valls launches ‘anti-Jihad’ plan to stop extremists,” by Tullio Giannotti, ANSAmed, April 23:
PARIS, APRIL 23 – With a simple text message – ‘Be proud, your son has attained martyrdom’ – Islamic holy war jihad alerts French families that their sons who have left the country to fight with Islamist militias have heroically died.
Premier Manuel Valls, a former premier known for his ‘zero-tolerance’ attitude, is aware of growing alarm in the country over this phenomenon. The release and return home Saturday of four French journalist abducted in Syria was celebrated and then forgotten in just a few hours. But the time was enough to hear their stories, with one reporter in particular talking about the French jailer who was watching them. According to French media reports, there is no doubt the reporters were detained in an area dubbed the ”factory of hostages” west of Aleppo. Here, abducted westerners are detained – so far an estimated 35 have been jailed there – watched over by masked gunmen.
At least four or five French nationals out of the estimated 500 who have left France to fight alongside Islamists over the past few years are believed to have served as guards to hostages. For years, the most fundamentalist mosques have bred a new generation of youths coming from North African families who willing to train as militants in camps to fight the holy war.
Boys and girls who chose jihad recently reportedly included a 15-year-old, a pregnant mother and a French soldier, according to a video posted on the web. All are ready to sacrifice their lives for the Islamic cause, forgetting their families in France. And apparently, jihad hierarchy relegates French speakers to the lowest ranks as militants.
This is why, as announced Wednesday by French President Francois Hollande, the Valls government is working on an anti-jihad offensive and on Thursday Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will present a draft law at a cabinet meeting.
The objective of the measure, Hollande said, is to ”dissuade, prevent, punish those” who are tempted by jihad.
”France will deploy an arsenal, using all techniques available including cyber-security” to combat this phenomenon, ”the use of religion for other purposes, in particular the most abominable of all, terrorism”, continued the president.
It is no coincidence that Hollande spoke during the official inauguration of an exhibit dedicated to the pilgrimage to the Makkah.The anti-jihad plan includes the re-implementation of an authorization necessary for minors to travel out of France and the possibility for parents to seek the help of public institutions if they notice suspicious behavior in their children. Suspicious behavior includes first of akk [sic] attendance of fundamentalist mosques and surfing pro-terrorist websites.
mortimer says
Only a massive counterjihad initiative in all Western countries will stop Islamic expansionism. A massive, multinational intelligence operation is required at the highest levels to deprogram Death Cultists. It is enough to introduce ONE SUBSTANTIAL DOUBT into the minds of jihadists. This is similar to introducing doubt into a jury. With doubt, a jury cannot convict the accused. Jihadists will not be able to commit atrocities if they doubt the righteousness or historicity of Islam.
john spielman says
the only way to combat the Satanic religion of islam is for the govt to openly rebuke muslims who adhere to its evil fascist tenets and expel those who persist in advocating for Islam and sharia law.
Buraq says
Well, as the French say: ‘The more Islam changes, the more it stays the same.’
But even Tony Blair is now saying that Russia, America and China should set aside their differences and team up to fight Islamic jihad, aka ‘Islamic terrorism’. That would really put Islam under pressure.
Straws in the wind?
tpellow says
Supplementary report-
“French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will submit an anti-radicalisation plan to the cabinet on Wednesday aimed at stopping youths from joining jihadist groups
in Syria.”
http://www.france24.com/en/20140422-france-syria-anti-radicalisation-jihad/
This report suggests that France may make the mistake of following a British approach to Islamic jihadists which is one of appeasing them in the forlorn hope of utopian reform of the dogmatic murderers, and deferring to ‘moderate’ Muslims to do the task.
JasonP says
France’s long commitment to secularism (Laïcité) may give it an edge in facing the threat of jihad.
nacazo says
Yes. This looks focused only to jihad outside of France, therefore the prevention of minors from leaving France without parental permission.
RCCA says
“…and the possibility for parents to seek the help of public institutions if they notice suspicious behavior in their children. Suspicious behavior includes first of akk [sic] attendance of fundamentalist mosques and surfing pro-terrorist websites.”
Sounds to me like the French government is recognizing the facts and is willing to do something about it. Children don’t wake up one morning and suddenly want to go to Syria. The parents don’t necessarily want to go up against the mosque, nor can they. Good idea to bring in a governmental anti-jihad task force.
John Magee says
“Hollande spoke about this during the official opening of an exhibit dedicated to the pilgrimage to Mecca”. How many converts to Catholicism in France make a pilgrimage to Lourdes turn and into suicide bombers or join non existent Catholic Crusaders today who kill blow up mosques or harm Muslims in the streets of France? A few years ago I watched a documentary about the Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, and the whole thing looked like a trip to hell. Agree or not agree with the reason why Christian pilgrimages exist they don’t have the ant hill quality of the pilgrimage to Mecca Muslims are required to try and do at least once in their lifetime. A pilgrimage to Mecca reeks of evil in my opinion. People die there each year in the rush to throw stones at a pillar where Satan supposedly exists or in the crush of the huge crowds entering or leaving the area of the Kaaba.
Di from Australia says
Daniel Greenfield writes an excellent article on what motivates these young people: read at ”
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Islam#sthash.kLvaw3ZS.dpuf
Quote:Muslim converts engage in terrorism at a higher rate than Muslims. It’s gotten so bad that converting to Islam is almost a form of suicide.
dumbledoresarmy says
Do nothing to stop them from leaving.
Then, once they have self-deported, strip them of their citizenship or residency status and slam the gates shut behind them so that they can never return.
As for any sort of psy-ops, it should be focussed on *non-Muslim* citizens and residents, whether indigenes or immigrants, with a view to very strongly dissuading them from converting to Islam. Would a sensible government complacently sit by and do nothing if it saw the Thuggee Cult revived, and hundreds or thousands of its citizens joining it, and then ritually-murdered bodies began turning up all over the place?
tpellow says
More ineffectual nonsense from the U.K on this:-
“British Muslim women urged to inform police over Syria activity.
Top counter-terror officer says any Briton fighting, or training to fight, in Syria should expect to be investigated on return to UK.”
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/24/british-muslim-women-urged-inform-police-syria-activity?
Geppetto says
Tony Blair and Hollande? A good sign.
gravenimage says
France: Prime Minister launches “anti-jihad” plan to “dissuade, prevent, punish” those tempted to join jihad
…………………………..
Then again, Hollande also urged France to acknowledge its “Oriental-Arab heritage.”
“The Left’s jihad on Western culture: People must be ‘educated’ to embrace ‘Arab’ culture”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/01/the-lefts-jihad-on-western-culture-people-must-be-educated-to-embrace-arab-culture
I’m not sure I’d count on him to take any really serious stance against JIhad and Shari’ah.