Lord, what fools these infidels be.
“‘Allah akbar,’ ‘Free Palestine’: at the trial of Shahid M., the strange amnesia of the accused and the anxiety of justice,” translated from “«Allah akbar», «Free Palestine» : au procès de Shahid M., l’étrange amnésie du prévenu et l’inquiétude de la justice,” by Rozenn Morgat, Le Figaro, November 6, 2023 (thanks to Medforth):
The Pakistani man in an irregular situation appeared on trial for having threatened passers-by with a pair of scissors in Rue des Rosiers on November 2, shouting “Allah Akbar” and “Free Palestine.”
Shahid M., dressed in black, has a blank expression as he looks around the room, a smile on his face. The defendant, aged 38, listens to the president of the 23rd chamber of the Paris Criminal Court as he explains the facts for which he is being tried this Monday at the end of the day. The man of Pakistani nationality, in an irregular situation, appears for “violence and threats” made on rue des Rosiers, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, on the evening of November 2, against passers-by as well as for “death threats » towards a police officer during his custody.
That evening, around 7 p.m., Shahid M. was reported to the police by a man for his worrying behavior. The homeless, who have a migratory journey that began in 2011 and of which France is the last stage, find themselves heavily alcoholic. He strolls, his hood on his head, in the rue des Rosiers, where a large Jewish community lives. There, near the shops and restaurants which adjoin the synagogue, and where numerous passers-by crowd around, some are preparing to enter the As du falafel restaurant, one of the emblematic addresses of the district. Shahid M. then takes out a pair of scissors from the bottom of his pocket, before waving it in the air, in powerful and disorderly gestures, to cries of “Allah Akbar” and “Free Palestine”. Panic movement. The passers-by flee. Those present inside the restaurant lock the door to prevent the individual from entering. He was arrested a few minutes later. In police custody, he unleashes his alcoholic rage again. To a police officer, filed as a civil party this Monday, Shahid M. addressed similar threats. “I will shoot you” (“I shoot you”, Editor’s note), he throws in his face, then chants “Allah Akbar” again. At past midnight, almost five hours after his arrest, the man, previously unknown to the police, still had a level of 0.5 grams of alcohol in his blood.
Neither the anti-Semitic nature nor the apology for terrorism was taken into account in the investigation to qualify the actions of Shahid M. that evening. However, their story resonates with particular gravity, while reports of comments and actions targeting the Jewish community in France are soaring, a direct consequence of the Hamas attack on Israel which sparked a new war in the region on October 7. last. Gérald Darmanin detailed the latest assessment, revised upwards almost daily, on November 5: 1,040 anti-Semitic acts were recorded in France in less than a month, more than in the whole of 2022. So, obviously, the absent or casual smile which the defendant does not deviate from when interrogating. “Given the current context, we could imagine the worst” when Shahid M. pulled a pair of scissors from his pocket among passers-by, points out the president of the chamber.
“Hairdresser” scissors
But, says Shahid M., if he had scissors that evening, it is because the man works as a hairdresser. This undeclared work allows him to earn the money that he spends largely on strong alcohol and beers. Because, the defendant argues, it is indeed “the bottle of whiskey and the handful of beers” that he drinks daily which are responsible for his actions on November 2. And for good reason, he maintains, that evening, “I don’t remember anything.” Neither for shouting “Allah Akbar” nor “Free Palestine”. Nor for having caused panic by threatening passers-by. “I don’t know what I said. It was only the next day that I learned what I was accused of. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I am not a terrorist,” explains the defendant who, when the president advises him that being drunk could constitute an aggravating circumstance, breathes, again with a smile: “I know, it’s not an excuse.”During the investigation, the police were unable to identify anyone close to Shahid M. who could attest to possible Islamist radicalism or a politicized profile. For his only biography, a woman and a little girl in Pakistan, and a journey of wandering across Europe started in 2011 qualify Shahid M. Over the last ten years, he has been successively refused asylum in Italy , in Switzerland then in Germany, before arriving in France 11 months ago. Since then, he has submitted a new request for asylum and is staying, pending his treatment, in emergency accommodation in Orléans.
FYI says
It probably would not end well in the USA.
You don’t bring a scissors to a gunfight.
Westman says
Macron is busy telling Israel how to run a war with Hamas while a second Revolution is brewing in his own nation. The elephant is in the room and Macron can’t even detect its peanut breath.