A Beheading In France

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Generals

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I just love how this topic inspires people to go full hog on silly interpretations. The murderer should obviously be tried, I've already said that, and anyone who supported the murderer or helped radicalize him (if such a thing happened) should be brought to justice. But the rest of it? Clamping down on Muslims and Islam in general in France? It doesn't make France a more harmonious country, it just breeds contempt and ire and widens the rift between French Muslims and Non-Muslims.

It is their right, once again I've never said anything else and I struggle to comprehend why people think this is what I'm saying, but it is a terribly stupid thing to do if your intended end point is a country with low levels of internal discontent and struggle. That's what I keep saying: That from the viewpoint of not sowing more dissent and running the risk of driving Muslims straight into the arms of radical Wahhabists, the French response is counter-productive. Clamping down on Muslims as a group when one guy committed a crime is like trying to put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it.
But what clamping down happened? Did France ban the Islam? massively close down mosques? Ban Hijabs from the streets? Ban Hallal food?

So if the "islamists" are in fact French citizens and have been born and raised in France, as many of them have, should they emigrate to a country they've never been in? Or should they be allowed to practice their free speech and freedom of religion like everyone else? This isn't a binary "do or don't", this is a spectrum in which European nations have to navigate the thorny issue of minority rights versus desired national values. A good place to start is to not piss off your minority if you want them to embrace your national values, because someone who dislikes you is not inclined to listen to you, no matter how good your arguments are or how great your values.

Tell that to all the women who were forced off public beaches in southern France because they wore burkinis. Let me also remind you that up until the 1950's a fully body swimsuit was the expected modest standard in the western world for women.
Never been in? Most of these people still have family in their "country of origin" and go there at least a month during the summer holidays. It's not like they lost all contact with their homeland. Manye even feel more attached to Morocco, Turkey,... than their host European country. And what about their responsibility not to piss off their hosts? Why should we always be the ones trying not to offend them? What about their racism, sexism and homophobia? Their imposition of Islamic values?

And tell that to topless women who were also forced off beaches because authorities sometimes apply weird (nonexistant?) rules...
 
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Iron

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I'll refer you back to Terminal Blue's post earlier in this thread. Does that seem like an appropriate response to one person committing a crime?



Their "hosts"? When they are French citizens and many off them have been born in France. This is some extreme level of othering you are doing.

Besides, do you feel like France ought to force everyone who votes for Front National to leave the country too for being racists and homophobes? There's a weird double standard here where good ol' conservative racism, sexism and homophobia gets a free pass while Muslims who are the same should be forced to leave in any way possible. I am absolutely sick of that triad of nastiness being trotted out by people any time the topic is Islam only for those same people to conveniently make excuses for Le Pen, Trump, Wilder, Åkesson or any other right wing politician that exhibits several of them. If it is fine for Le Pen to be openly homophobic (though she has gone to trial for it), then the same should apply to any random Muslims (who should also be trialed if they are inciting homophobia).



Except those women in burkinis got targeted because of a ban applied specifically to target Muslim women who wanted body covering swimsuits. France does not have laws against being topless on beaches. This isn't even a comparison, because your example hasn't happened since the 60's or so.
If you'd move out of the country you were born in and move to a different country when the economy is not going well then you're a long-term tourist and a guest.
You can interview people whose parents and grandparents moved to a different country about this and you'll find that they would move back "home" if it was economically beneficial to them, and that they have a warped view of their "home" country. Check it in the Turkish diaspora, who support Erdogan much, much more than local Turks, mostly because they don't have to live under his control.
Also, Daesh volunteers in Europe.
 

stroopwafel

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but..but..muh christians!

In light of this, my previous point about France just escalating the tensions between the French society and muslims by cracking down on them in the wake of this beheading is particularly relevant. It is exactly the kind of response that is thought to drive alienation of young, poor and disenfranchised muslims in Europe and drive them towards radical islamism.
Yeah. Their superiority complex, complete disregard of western values, hate of liberal democracy, glorification of violence and dream of a worldwide caliphate ofcourse have nothing to do with it. How much does a country have to get punched in the face before it gets the message?
 

Iron

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You can also interview people who would never move back to their country of birth and consider themselves naturalized citizens of their home country. That different people react and think in different ways prove nothing. Legally, a citizen of France can consider France their home country and if you're born in France and have no other citizenships (something true of many French muslims) then you've got as much of a right to stay there as anyone else born in France without other citizenships, no matter what you might think of your parents or grandparents home country. There are all kinds of Muslims in France from citizens from generations back to recent refugees and temporary workers. The whole "go home if it doesn't suit you"-argument only really works for those that are temporary workers. For everyone with a citizenship, France is their home for all legal purposes. For refugees, there's a reason why they are not in their home country anymore.

As for Daesh, maybe we should talk about how most of the volunteers from Europe were second and third generation immigrants (or later, almost none of them were first generation immigrants) who had never visited their parents or grandparents home country (which makes them similar to the Turkish diaspora, for example). There's a lot of complexity there in terms of integration and socialization that can be unpacked. The fact that there are significant minorities of Muslims all over Europe who are feeling increasingly persecuted and unwelcome since 9/11 has been established as a major contributing factor, along with significant radicalization over the internet.

In light of this, my previous point about France just escalating the tensions between the French society and muslims by cracking down on them in the wake of this beheading is particularly relevant. It is exactly the kind of response that is thought to drive alienation of young, poor and disenfranchised muslims in Europe and drive them towards radical islamism.

Tl dr: The "go home if it doesn't suit you"-argument is stupidly reductive, often inapplicable and needs to go die in a fire.
I'm not in favor of "The "go home if it doesn't suit you"-argument". I did say that many of those people would happily "go home" if it was financially beneficial to them and have a tenuous connection with their birth-country. Hence the volunteers to Daesh. Yes, you can blame the host nations for not working harder on assimilation for their citizens of the Umma, that is expected and also justified. I'd like to stress that muslims aren't very happy being ruled by mushrikeen , mostly because it means that their surroundings don't respect Shariah. Imagine you're a practicing Muslim teen, and at your highschool the girls walk around in modern outfits and tempt you, and after school your classmates all drink alchohol, and you can only eat halal food at home from your mum. This is why muslims live in close-knit communities (same with practicing jews). If they were able to, they'd live in a country that follows the laws of Allah, and does so in the public sphere. This is also why the biggest opponents of normalizing homosex or pederasy in public education in the UK are practicing muslims.

I always thought that the europeans were vain in their attempts to "civilize" foreigners, even now they are trying to "civilize" members of the Umma. This is why in my country we have shariah courts, and allow them autonomy in personal religious manners, even if you might consider it "barbaric". It's also why they prefer to live in majority muslim cities, and why jews prefer to live in majority jewish cities. The public sphere is different. You can easily criss-cross between the two, visit one of the other, and live in mixed cities (I live in one).

but..but..muh christians!



Yeah. Their superiority complex, complete disregard of western values, hate of liberal democracy, glorification of violence and dream of a worldwide caliphate ofcourse have nothing to do with it. How much does a country have to get punched in the face before it gets the message?
I'm not christian.
 

Iron

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It was in referral to those who continue to trivialize islamic terrorism is if it is in the same league as whatever the christian equivalent is.
The Christian equivalent is in another league because it is organized and done by states. i.e. Iraq getting pommeled into the stone-age.
 

Iron

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That was a catastrophic decision but still provoked by 9/11.
I guess you haven't read about the invasion in 1990. That can be considered as worse than 2003 in terms of economic damage, material damage and loss of human lives.
 

stroopwafel

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I guess you haven't read about the invasion in 1990. That can be considered as worse than 2003 in terms of economic damage, material damage and loss of human lives.
Which was provoked by Saddam occupying Kuwait. Let's not forget Saddam gassing the Kurds a few years before, his aggression to other neighbouring countries and him openly terrorizing his own country and in particular the shia majority for decades on end and you didn't have a country that was exactly flourishing to begin with. Other than it's exports of crude maybe.
 

Generals

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I'll refer you back to Terminal Blue's post 260 earlier in this thread. Does that seem like an appropriate response to one person committing a crime?



Their "hosts"? When they are French citizens and many off them have been born in France. This is some extreme level of othering you are doing.
That would be true if those people truly consider themselves French. A whole bunch doesn't, they still identify more with their "country of origin".

Besides, do you feel like France ought to force everyone who votes for Front National to leave the country too for being racists and homophobes? There's a weird double standard here where good ol' conservative racism, sexism and homophobia gets a free pass while Muslims who are the same should be forced to leave in any way possible. I am absolutely sick of that triad of nastiness being trotted out by people any time the topic is Islam only for those same people to conveniently make excuses for Le Pen, Trump, Wilder, Åkesson or any other right wing politician that exhibits several of them. If it is fine for Le Pen to be openly homophobic (though she has gone to trial for it), then the same should apply to any random Muslims (who should also be trialed if they are inciting homophobia).

Having the "wrong" opinions should not necessarily mean you need to leave. It should mean that you are to be engaged by a democratic and liberal society at every turn, until you realize that liberal values are superior to your bigotry. That's supposedly how democracy and liberalism is supposed to work. This is what I believe when it comes to conservatives and far right politicians (and left wing too, especially in the case of racism), so I certainly believe the same should apply to Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians or any other religious person who exhibit those values.
It depends, who is that person who votes for FN? Is it a French-American who thinks Trump's America is heaven and feels more American than French? Than yes i'd tell them they can go to that promised haven instead of trying to turn France into it. And if they use violence I would go further than just "telling" them. But that isn't really representative of the average FN voter now isn't it? They are usually 100% French with no connection to other nations, one nationality and probably never even travelled outside of the country.

And you're right, having the wrong opinion doesn't mean you have to leave BUT usually it's more than just opinions. It often comes with verbal and physical violence.
 

Iron

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Which was provoked by Saddam occupying Kuwait. Let's not forget Saddam gassing the Kurds a few years before, his aggression to other neighbouring countries and him openly terrorizing his own country and in particular the shia majority for decades on end and you didn't have a country that was exactly flourishing to begin with. Other than it's exports of crude maybe.
I don't understand the flow of conversation here. Are you justifying the invasions of Iraq?
I gave it as an example of how the christian world terrorized the muslim world. You haven't really addressed that.
 

stroopwafel

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I don't understand the flow of conversation here. Are you justifying the invasions of Iraq?
I gave it as an example of how the christian world terrorized the muslim world. You haven't really addressed that.
No, you are the one setting up a disingenuous comparison here with a false argument. What does the U.S. invasion of Iraq have to do with a muslim terrorist beheading a French school teacher or a truck deliberately driving over children? You make comparisons with international conflicts you can't follow through on.
 

Iron

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No, you are the one setting up a disingenuous comparison here with a false argument. What does the U.S. invasion of Iraq have to do with a muslim terrorist beheading a French school teacher or a truck deliberately driving over children? You make comparisons with international conflicts you can't follow through on.
The Christian equivalent to Islamic terrorism is in another league. Christians topple Islamic regimes and plunged those countries into disaster. They're responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead and millions of refugees.
 

stroopwafel

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The Christian equivalent to Islamic terrorism is in another league. Christians topple Islamic regimes and plunged those countries into disaster. They're responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead and millions of refugees.
If the intent was to 'terrorize' as you claim, wouldn't there then be more effective modus of operandi? Why instigate a refugee crisis, heavy military casualties and trillions in losses when you have the most destructive weapons on earth? Your reductionist approach only betrays you know absolutely nothing of foreign policy other than the most basic onedimensional platitudes.
 

Iron

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If the intent was to 'terrorize' as you claim, wouldn't there then be more effective modus of operandi? Why instigate a refugee crisis, heavy military casualties and trillions in losses when you have the most destructive weapons on earth? Your reductionist approach only betrays you know absolutely nothing of foreign policy other than the most basic onedimensional platitudes.
ok dude
Carpet-Bombing cities isn't terrorism, ok. Destroying entire energy grids neither. Forcing the population into starvation and refusing to allow it to trade for food is a-ok.
Occupying the territory for years with a military occupation for no apparent reason but to extract the native oil is totally normal.

edit: https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/29/europes-growing-muslim-population/
Go down to this section "Young Muslim Population in Europe contributes to growth"
 
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CM156

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I don't understand the flow of conversation here. Are you justifying the invasions of Iraq?
Which invasion are we talking about? Because if it's the Gulf War, I'll gladly justify that one (if not our response afterwards which was to try to destroy the country through economic sanctions)


Welp.
My condolences to the families of the victim. A truly tragic event.