A Burning Issue
February 22–24, 2011
Some readers were shocked to see me prominently display, on my website, links to videos featuring various speakers, including figures from the far right, under the title
""
Without Comment"
I removed the link to this video when it was paired with a propaganda link for the National Front candidate, which directed to her website.
My aim is to provide information, not political propaganda.
I had also included a link to a second video:
"Did You Know?
Additional Information:
The list of mosques in France
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_mosqu%C3%A9es_de_France
Excerpt from:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_en_France
Studies show a shift in religious practice: according to a 2006 CSA-La Vie survey, 49% of Muslims surveyed never attend mosque, while 88% observe Ramadan fasting, prayers, or charitable acts—compared to 60% in 1989.
Three major organizations exist: the Grand Mosque of Paris, the Rassemblement des musulmans de France, and the Union des organisations islamiques de France.
At least 2,100 mosques are counted in France. In 1985, there were about 900, and only 5 in 1965. According to Le Monde, construction of large mosques is accelerating, with projects underway in several major French cities. The oldest French Muslim school is located on the island of Réunion.
Two Muslim colleges exist: one in Aubervilliers (École de la réussite) and another in Décines, near Lyon (collège-lycée Al Kindi). A new high school has also opened in Lille, the Lycée Averroès.
The 1905 law on separation of church and state means public schools cannot be confessional. Parents wishing their children to attend religious schools must therefore enroll them in private institutions.
Of the approximately 2,100 imams in the country, 75% are not French, and a third do not speak French.
This has provoked numerous reactions from my readers, and I see that it has become an opportunity to address a subject—both fiery and undeniable—that deserves reflection.
Let’s begin by presenting two typical responses, drawn from the various messages I’ve received recently, representing viewpoints that could be considered opposing, yet both expressed with apparent sincerity:
Reader 1
Hello,
I carefully watched the video about Muslims in France.
First: Eric Zemmour, a controversial commentator, appears repeatedly in this video. He frequently appears on Ruquier’s show, of course of Jewish origin, who was recently condemned for inciting racial hatred after stating live on TV that most prison inmates were either Black or Arab. Whether he is right or wrong is irrelevant—the court has condemned him. (See: http://www.letelegramme.com/ig/generales/france-monde/france/provocation-a-la-haine-raciale-eric-zemmour-a-nouveau-condamne-19-02-2011-1211961.php)
Secondly, the editing of this video is clearly designed to provoke fear. Of course, we cannot deny that problems and excesses exist—but what is the actual reality? Could we not also be manipulated? What do the numbers actually say?
It’s interesting to consult the Wikipedia page:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_en_France
For instance, we learn that around 3,600 people convert to Islam in France each year, a figure that has remained fairly stable for several years.
So, roughly 4,000 people per year, meaning that in 10 years, there would be about 40,000 more converts to Islam in France, and in 100 years, 400,000 to 500,000—on the same basis, for a population of 80 to 100 million, this is not enormous.
But if we also look at the number of people converting to Catholicism in France, we find figures between 2,500 and 3,000 per year.
Thus, the net gain for Muslim converts is only about 1,000 per year.
Moreover, many French Muslim women convert to Catholicism each year—a fact I was unaware of.
In short, we are still far from a massive conversion of French people to Islam.
In France, the Muslim population is estimated at around 3 million people, but Marine Le Pen and other politicians often speak of 8 to 10 million, which, according to them, would represent 10% of the French population.
If we split the difference, perhaps it’s a maximum of 5 million—so maybe in 100 years, it could reach 10 to 15% of the population.
But note: among the 3 million Muslims, not all are practicing, and among practicing Muslims, only a small percentage are extremists.
Given that the population will grow in 100 years, if France has 100 million people and 10 to 15 million Muslims, that’s not negligible—but it’s not yet a majority, and by then...
Regarding mosques, attention should also be paid here: mosques have existed in France for hundreds of years, possibly even longer.
For many years, they were clandestine: basement spaces in buildings, underground parking lots, gymnasiums, or abandoned factories, etc. The construction of mosques merely brings to light a de facto situation that had remained invisible until now.
It would also be interesting to see whether Saudi Arabia shows the same tolerance for building churches.
We might also wonder whether issuing building permits for such establishments—something that somehow frightens many French people—might ultimately serve the interests of the right wing, and thus the far right. It’s curious that many mosques have been built since Sarkozy’s arrival, isn’t it?
Finally, we must not forget that without immigration from North Africa, France’s birth rate would be below replacement level, and we would have an aging population. Yet France actually has one of the highest birth rates in Europe.
The real issue is inequality and the distribution of wealth, since we know that Islamists often recruit from the poorest communities.
I therefore fear we may soon face a North-South conflict: the poor, with nothing left to lose, versus the well-fed Westerners, all against the backdrop of religious wars.
Reader 2
Hello,
I agree there is a serious risk in sharing such a video. I would say there are two risks:
- Becoming a target of extremists—risk of prosecution? Although you’re only relaying a video.
Regarding the comments of the other reader, I would say this:
1/ Eric Zemmour was wrongly convicted. He merely stated a truth, and his trial sparked outrage among journalists, who rightly believe we can no longer speak truths if they aren’t “politically correct.”
They rushed to condemn him, while Dieudonné, who regularly attacks Jews, has always escaped punishment when facing French justice.
2/ The conversion rate isn’t the real issue—the real problem is the indoctrination and instrumentalization of Islam. Do we know what happens inside mosques?
Should we accept that streets are blocked multiple times daily for prayer?
3/ My correspondent is mistaken. The real statistics aren’t disclosed to avoid frightening the population. There may be 8 to 10 million Muslims in France, regardless of origin—North Africa, Middle East, Africa.
4/ Bringing in illiterate immigrants or potentially extremist Muslims won’t help ensure demographic renewal. On the contrary, we clearly see how cultural standards are declining and our values deteriorating.
5/ The Muslim population doubles on average every ten years!
In Algeria, there were 8 million Muslims in 1962; in 2010, there are over 40 million!
In Egypt, in the 1970s, there were only about 20 million; today, there are over 80 million!
Consequences: French income will keep decreasing, and taxes and employer charges will rise, as we must finance family allowances, social security, housing aid, unemployment benefits, etc. Consider the problem of "beurs" and their refusal to integrate. They want France to become Islamic so that Sharia can be applied.
Can we rely on immigration to create new wealth, build industries, and raise the intellectual level of our population? I don’t think so.
Moreover, the descendants of immigrants lack clear values. No need to remind you of the fires, stone-throwing at buses and fire trucks, riots, etc.
How can we explain that 70% of the prison population is Black or Muslim, while they represent only 10% of the population?
This is fundamentally a cultural issue.
We’ve never had such problems with immigrants from Europe or Asia, have we?
I’ll stop here, as I don’t want to appear racist.
There are books to be written on this topic—I’m just sharing my opinion on a burning issue.
It seems the first step should be a factual assessment. Among other things:
-
The figures cited are frankly different. Can we obtain reliable statistics?
-
We speak of public prayers in the streets. Is this a systematic, weekly, or occasional behavior?
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What behaviors are legally incompatible with the French republican law and constitution?
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Is there a real rise of Islam in France?
February 24, 2011
I removed the video that incited voting for Marine Le Pen and was constructed from selected, curated clips, whose choice could have been manipulative. I undertook the effort—requiring significant work—to locate the original source videos. One of them was an investigation conducted by the group
investigation led by the group’s head, John Paul Lepers, who does not appear, at first glance, to be a spokesperson for the French far right. He investigated “all forms of extremism,” striving to reaffirm France’s status as a fundamentally secular state.
- Discussing religion is a minefield.
Very quickly, a reader provided me with the addresses of the four parts of John Paul Lepers’ investigation, which I find honest and well-conducted. They reveal diametrically opposed trends. There are the deeply unsettling words spoken by Rashid Ghassen, far from an ordinary figure, who is the treasurer of the Abu Baber Mosque in Roubaix, at the beginning of the investigation—contrasting sharply with those of Imam Tarek Obrouk, who presents Islam as a religion that has successfully adapted to every country it has settled in, and thus must, in his view, respect French laws. He himself insists on identifying primarily as French.
John Paul Lepers’ investigation:
Part 1/4
Part 2/4
Part 3/4
Part 4/4
Here is the segment of the interview taking place in the Roubaix mosque. Lepers is facing Rashid Ghassen, the treasurer.
John Paul Lepers facing Rachid Ghassen, treasurer of the Roubaix mosque
Another view of a room on the first floor of the Roubaix mosque
His interlocutor, Rachid Ghassen, treasurer of the mosque, begins by saying to him: “You haven’t read the Quran correctly; otherwise, you’d already be Muslim. It’s impossible otherwise.” Later, he says:
Rachid Ghassen, treasurer of the Roubaix mosque – Stoning? In a Muslim country, I say “yes.” It’s a divine law.
The same applies to amputating the hands and feet of a thief, which also corresponds to this divine law.
When Lepers tells Ghassen that Muslims are already a majority in Roubaix, an economically depressed city, and adds, “Suppose one day the French population becomes predominantly Muslim—would France then become a Muslim country, where Sharia would have to be applied?”—the other immediately agrees. Lepers responds: “You scare me.” And Ghassen replies with a broad smile: “You shouldn’t!”
There are laws condemning incitement to racial hatred. Couldn’t such statements fall under a law condemning advocacy of practices we might label “anti-humanist” or simply “inhuman”? But for this individual, stoning, as well as amputating hands and feet, falls within what he perceives as “Muslim humanism.”
Thus, there are places of gathering, places of worship in France, where such views are expressed calmly and openly, with intense proselytizing. Islam is not merely a spiritual journey. It is also a social model, complete with its law, Sharia. It is difficult to claim to be Muslim while immediately rejecting one of the pillars of this faith.
The investigation covers many aspects. In one mosque, Lepers is told the Quran is only intelligible in Arabic, and that to offer even a basic commentary, one must first learn Arabic. Elsewhere, he visits a large annual fair dedicated to Islam, where he interviews a visitor wearing a full veil.
She tells him that, according to her interpretation of the Prophet’s words—“women should lower their veils”—she is merely obeying this command. At the end of the report, Imam Tarek Obrouk, questioned on this, replies that this woman is wrong. Lepers then offers his hand, saying he would like to shake hands with a French citizen. She refuses immediately.
In one of the four parts, Lepers visits Christian extremists—the “Lefèvristes,” referring to Bishop Lefevre, who defied Vatican rules by deciding priests he ordained would continue wearing cassocks and saying Mass in Latin. For a long time, they were excluded from the Roman Catholic Church. But the current Pope, Benedict XVI, recently reintegrated them. This time, he is received violently by Lefèvriste militants.
The priest (in cassock): “Get in your car and get out of here!”
I have not yet reported on my brief stay in Egypt (during the time of the demonstrations in Cairo), from which I can only offer very fragmented impressions, preventing me from producing an analysis of Egypt, which is heavily manipulated by Western powers such as the United States and France. Before focusing on passing images, one should revisit Egypt’s history and analyze its current situation, centering on its economy. Who owns what? Who supports whom, and why? How does Egypt “function”? On this point, the recent statement by Michèle Alliot-Marie at the National Assembly, proposing to send French security units to Ben Ali—units long known for their professionalism and effectiveness—is quite revealing.
That said, it still feels odd to find an Arabic version of Mein Kampf offered for sale by a street bookseller in central Cairo. We stayed a few kilometers from the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut, where in 1997 Egyptian extremists cold-bloodedly massacred 60 French and Swiss tourists—first with bullets, then with knives, after exhausting their ammunition.
In Egypt, one learns that female genital mutilation (removal of the clitoris in girls aged 6–7) remains common, even though it has recently been made illegal. Another investigation to conduct. That said, this practice, established in these countries long before Islam’s arrival, is not linked to Islam but to other motives. See the link. One reads:
Countries where the vast majority of women are circumcised—over 85%: Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan.
Readers send me document after document, going in opposite directions. One cited phrases by de Gaulle. Of course, upon receiving such a message, one is immediately tempted to think it’s a forgery or a montage designed to stir up trouble. But a search for authenticity of such statements, which I leave to you to discover:
http://fr.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle#Citations_rapport.C3.A9es
To be continued
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