A Blame Game?
I will post About Lebanon a bit later, but first I thought it would be fair to showcase the other point of view regarding the Paris riots.
I had argued that there is a problem within the current understanding of Islam that is causing Moslems all over the world to act violently. Jamal insists: It’s not a Moslem problem.
Issam, a regular commenter on this blog, elaborates on why he thinks I am wrong:
Mustapha , you are not fair to Muslims.
Why is it that the US civil Rights movement with all its riots, looting and Christian leadership is accepted as an expression of the struggle of Blacks in the US for freedom and equality.
Islam is undergoing a revival. The extremists you and some of your commentators describe are a minority and on the fringe. The majority of Muslims are peace-loving. law-abiding people with moderate political views.
The extremists exist in Muslim communities , as they do in every religous community, but they are on the fringe and a small minority. They are the sensational darlings of the media and thus their presence is exaggerated.
Social and economic factors plus discrimination are the real culprits here. Le pen’s movement is also a factor that can’t be discounted in this outburst by disaffected African youth.
In 1968 it was French students who were burning buses and cars in Paris. No one blamed it on Christianity or Judaism.
I know it is fashionable to blame Muslims ( the real New anti-semitism) but you are way out in Right field when you say that “Moslems are showing a unique tendency to use collective violence as a mean of expressing discontent.” What about the IRA. Orangemen, the Anti-aparteid movement ,Jewish, Christian and Hindu “extremist” groups.
Mustapha you may not be a self-hater( a term coined by the Jews) but you definitely have double standards.
Issam
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.
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The US Civil Rights mvmt. was mostly peaceful, except at the tail end. Its faces were Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, peaceful people revered to this day.
Islam is undergoing a revival
Who are the faces of this revival: Bin Laden, Zarqawi, Ahmadinejad…
Any reasonable name you can name to counterbalance those will be an unknown irrelevant guy.
The extremists exist in Muslim communities Yes but extremists have taken charge and the majority is silent (fear, don’t care, tacitly approve?? don’t matter, their voice is not heard).
In a popularity poll, the above named EXTREMISTS would get over 50% in an al-Jazeera poll over Mother Teresa.
LePen is the RESULT of problems not addressed in France, not the cause. (No Issam I am not a fan of LePen).
Double standards. You should know. Mustapha is lucky you did not call him a racist. If I had said half of what Mustapha said in his post you would have branded me a racist (again). And BTW I do not agree with all of Mustapha’s analysis.
I am sure the root causes of the riots in Paris are complex, but to suggest that rioting is accepted as an expression of the struggle is pure bunk. Josey Wales has it right. The real movers of the American civil rights movement whose accomplishments are still honoured and celebrated today are the people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Until and unless some leaders like that emerge from within the Muslim community this issue will not be addressed. If they exist now, the first thing they should be doing in learning how to made themselves heard above the din. There are some marvelous bloggers out there (Mustapha is one) who are not afraid to call it what it is, but bloggers have limited reach. What is needed is real flesh and blood people on the ground working both within their own communities and in the wider community to unite with non-Muslims and form a front against those who would smear the name of Islam by committing senseless acts of violence and mayhem. Perhaps potential leaders should pay a visit to the King Center for some inspiration and practical advice.
I must confess I share (part of) ‘Issam’s legitimate and circumstanced concerns…and I had actually laid similar criticisms at Mr Mousse’s doorstep when he came up with his WEIRD “anti-terror” poster cum unilateral anti-Arab self-incrimination following the tragic events of July 7 in London!
This being said, our favorite Afro-Tripolitan gunslinger always shoots from the hip, with unquestionable courage: he has always opened his forum to opposing views even we some self-proclaimed “advised” him to shut down dissenting voices- I’m thinking in particular of a certain Fez-wearing buffoon…. ;-)
Anyway, kudos for Mr. Mousse for he is truly a “sacré lascar” to use a French word of Moorish origin- thought it might be timely given current circumstances affecting the Paris suburbs a.k.a. “la banlieue” a medieval Gallic word which literally means “the place of the banned/untouchables”
Eternally Yours in Liberty,
Dr Victorino de la Vega
Chair of the Thomas More Center for Middle East Studies
http://www.mideastmemo.blogspot.com
This has nothing to do with Islam or moslems.
It is about deprived people who have no hope… just like poor ghettos in the states
During Mai 68, people did not launch Molotov cocktails on buses that resulted in burning handicapped people. During May 68 Violence was a mean, not an end. These people have no political demands, they are just having fun. I don’t completely discard the cultural factor but I think that the problem is more social than religious. Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with expressing anger: these people are hooligans. They are primarily attacking poor immigrants, not ethnic French. Authorities should use force against them. Shoot back if they use firearms. Like the US did in New Orleans. Period.
The cause of riots are diverse. The continuance of rioting is not. No matter the cause of the riots in France, the contination is based upon the rush of excitement, the feeling of power and most importantly in my opinion… the group mentality that violence feeds violence.
Those participating in the violence are thugs and criminals. They are not revolutionaries. They are not religious extremists. They are not fighting for a higher cause… if they were, they would not be detroying their own neighborhoods, torching their own cars, and setting fire to their schools.
The spark that led to flames may have been from social or religious injustice but the bonfire France has now is being flamed by thugs and wannnabe gangsters.
Only after bringing these criminals to justice can true justice be found for those in France’s Underclass.