"Sharpening Contradictions: Why al-Qaeda attacked Satirists in Paris"

[Htom Sirveaux]

The problem for a terrorist group like al-Qaeda is that its recruitment pool is Muslims, but most Muslims are not interested in terrorism. Most Muslims are not even interested in politics, much less political Islam. France is a country of 66 million, of which about 5 million is of Muslim heritage. But in polling, only a third, less than 2 million, say that they are interested in religion. French Muslims may be the most secular Muslim-heritage population in the world (ex-Soviet ethnic Muslims often also have low rates of belief and observance). Many Muslim immigrants in the post-war period to France came as laborers and were not literate people, and their grandchildren are rather distant from Middle Eastern fundamentalism, pursuing urban cosmopolitan culture such as rap and rai. In Paris, where Muslims tend to be better educated and more religious, the vast majority reject violence and say they are loyal to France.

Al-Qaeda wants to mentally colonize French Muslims, but faces a wall of disinterest. But if it can get non-Muslim French to be beastly to ethnic Muslims on the grounds that they are Muslims, it can start creating a common political identity around grievance against discrimination.

(SNIP)

The only effective response to this manipulative strategy (as Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani tried to tell the Iraqi Shiites a decade ago) is to resist the impulse to blame an entire group for the actions of a few and to refuse to carry out identity-politics reprisals.

Sharpening Contradictions: Why al-Qaeda attacked Satirists in Paris

And backing up the idea Muslims (in this case, Muslim-Americans) aren't interested in terrorism, here's a FAIR blog post highlighting Gallup polling on attitudes towards violence against civilians across religion-related groups. Muslim-Americans turn out to be the most unwilling to condone violence against civilians, regardless of whether that violence has government sanction (even more unwilling than atheists/agnostics/"nones&quot .

[NYC_SKP]

1. "Muslim-Americans turn out to be... ...even more unwilling than atheists/agnostics/"nones"???

Recommended.

[Fumesucker]

2. "Most Muslims aren't interested in religion" makes my head spin

A Muslim is a follower of Islam.

I was born and raised "Christian" but that's certainly not what I call myself today.

It's striking to me that we don't have another word for these people who are uninterested in religion other than the same word for those who are interested religion, Muslim-heritage is really awkward.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Secular Jews

The problem was solved long ago for the Jewish community, you can be a Jew who is not religious.

[cbayer]

5. That quote does not appear in this article.

What he says is this:

"most Muslims are not interested in terrorism"

"Most Muslims are not even interested in politics, much less political Islam."

"France is a country of 66 million, of which about 5 million is of Muslim heritage. But in polling, only a third, less than 2 million, say that they are interested in religion"

I agree that muslim heritage is awkward. This also comes up when one talks about Jewish people. Some identify only with the heritage and not with the religion.

[cbayer]

4. I think this is a very important article.

He is not the only one making the case that what is happening here is an intentional destabilization of the muslim/french relationship for the purpose of creating more potential recruits.

If that point is missed, they will win.

[trotsky]

6. ZOMG did you really go there?

If that point is missed, they will win.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=...or%20the%20terrorists%20win

[Jim__]

7. If that is al-Qaeda's tactic, it will be very hard to beat.

People react out of fear. Fear of foreigners who look and sound different is easy to create, especially when you have no scruples about killing innocent people. Non-radical Muslims and non-Muslim citizens will have to make a strong and sustained effort to defeat such a tactic in the face of outrageous acts of violence against innocent people, acts specifically designed to drive people apart.

[cbayer]

8. The responsibility for countering this is more in control of the

non-muslims, than the muslims, imo.

There will certainly be a strengthening of anti-islamic sentiment from the forces in France that are already pushing that.

It is the non-muslims that need to make the strong and sustained effort to defeat such a tactic, imo.

It is not a good time to be a muslim or even look like a muslim in france.

[Jim__]

9. My understanding is that there was a large visible Muslim presence at the Paris gatherings after ...

... the Charlie Hebdo killings.

I think that type of public reaction, by Muslims, against the radicals, helps a lot.

[cbayer]

10. I wasn't aware of that but I think it's wonderful.

I didn't mean to say that Muslims standing up against the radicals isn't important, only that we all share the responsibility.

Standing together will make the strongest statement.