Friday, November 04, 2005
Riots
The fact that rioting in France could be "well organized", is terrible news. Those that are rioting tend to be poor immigrants who have not assimilated well in France, or with French culture. Exactly the type that are ripe for the plucking by Al Qaeda, or other Jihadist groups. It gets worse: there are now Muslim-led riots in Denmark:
Not that well covered is a very similar series of riots, also running for four days, in à rhus, Denmark. Nothing of it has penetrated to theEnglishh-language sections of Danish media, so the following is my translation of a piece in daily Jyllands-Posten:Could Al Qaeda be behind these riots, or is it "just" a local matter? Al Qaeda's plan in the aftermath of 9/11 was to get Muslims to rise up against their own governments, and then the West. Is that what we're seeing happening? The riots in France will definitely serve as a wake up call to the French people. They will now see that something needs to be done to help the immigrants fit it. Will it be too late?
Rosenhøj Mall has several nights in a row been the scene of the worst riots in à rhus for years. "This area belongs to us", the youths proclaim. Sunday evening saw a new arson attack.
Their words sound like a clear declaration of war on the Danish society. Police must stay out. The area belongs to immigrants.
Four youths sit on the wall in Rosenhøj Mall sunday afternoon, calling themselves spokesmen for the groups, that three nights in a row have ravaged and tried to burn down the restaurant and other stores.
Around the parking lot, cars with youngsters from the immigrant community are swarming, and many are walking around, greeting each others with a sense of victory after the worst riots in à rhus in years.
Every night 3youthsyouts took part, especially immigrants.
Only two were arrested.
That was a victory.
"We knew, you would be coming. We are spokesmen", said a young man with a black knitted hood on his head, when JP (Jyllands-Posten - Henrik) visited RosenhøjSundaysunday. He was angry. Very angry. Behind him the pub Hot Shot has scars after the attacks with cobble stones, and the stores along the parking lot besides the small mall have their windows covered with adhesive tape in a spiderweb pattern.
Update (12:47 PM EST): It gets worse:
A reporter who spent last weekend in Clichy and its neighboring towns of Bondy, Aulnay-sous-Bois and Bobigny heard a single overarching message: The French authorities should keep out.Now, they don't even want to be a part of France.
"All we demand is to be left alone," said Mouloud Dahmani, one of the local "emirs" engaged in negotiations to persuade the French to withdraw the police and allow a committee of sheiks, mostly from the Muslim Brotherhood, to negotiate an end to the hostilities.
President Jacques Chirac and Premier de Villepin are especially sore because they had believed that their opposition to the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 would give France a heroic image in the Muslim community.
