From the BBC:
“France
teacher attack: Pupil's father 'exchanged texts with killer'”
The father of a
pupil accused of launching an online campaign against Samuel Paty, the teacher
beheaded in France, sent messages to the killer before the attack, French media
report. Mr Paty, who was killed on Friday, had earlier shown controversial
cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils. The 48-year-old father, who has
not been officially named, is accused of issuing a "fatwa" against
the teacher. The brutal murder of Mr Paty, 47, has shocked France. Tens of
thousands of people took part in rallies across France at the weekend to honour
him and defend freedom of speech. A silent march was held on Tuesday evening in
the suburb north-west of Paris where he was killed. A man named as 18-year-old
Abdoulakh A was shot dead by police after killing Mr Paty on Friday.
Beheading of
teacher deepens divisions in France The father of the pupil is reported to
have exchanged a number of text messages with Mr Paty's killer prior to the attack
close to the teacher's school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. He is
accused, along with a preacher described by French media as a radical Islamist,
of calling for Mr Paty to be punished by issuing a so-called "fatwa"
(considered a legal ruling by Islamic scholars). Interior Minister
Gérald Darmanin said the two men had been arrested and were being investigated
for an "assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise". Police
launched a series of raids targeting Islamist networks on Monday, and some 40
homes were targeted.
On Tuesday,
French President Emmanuel Macron said the Sheikh Yassin Collective - an
Islamist group named after the founder of the Palestinian militant group Hamas
- would be outlawed for being "directly involved" in the killing. He
said the ban was a way of helping France's Muslim community, Europe's largest,
from the influence of radicalism. The group's leader is among 16 people who
were taken into custody in the aftermath of the murder. Six have now been
released after questioning including the killer's grandfather, parents and
17-year-old brother. Four school students are believed to remain in detention. Mr
Darmanin earlier said 51 French Muslim organisations, including charities and
NGOs, would be inspected by government officials and closed down if they were
found to be promoting hatred. He said police would also be interviewing about
80 people who were believed to have posted messages in support of the killing. Also
on Tuesday, the French government ordered a mosque to close for sharing videos
on Facebook calling for action against Mr Paty and sharing his school's address
in the days before his death. The Pantin mosque, which has about 1,500
worshippers and is situated just north of Paris, will close for six months on
Wednesday. The mosque expressed "regret" over the videos, which it
has deleted, and condemned the teacher's killing.
A divided
nation exposed Beneath the public outrage there is a divided nation. A
growing number of people believe France's rules on secularism and freedom of
speech need to change. Around 29% of Muslim respondents told a recent
poll that Islam was incompatible with the values of the French Republic - a
sharp increase over the past few years. And among those under 25, the figure
was much higher. The number of people who think violence is justified in
response to cartoons of Muhammad is very small. But teachers in some areas say
that view is growing among their pupils. The roots of this rebellion
against French national values are complex - conflicts abroad, racism, lack of
opportunity and government policy all play a role. It's hard to support
the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity if they don't appear to apply to
you. Before this attack, President Macron had already promised a new law
to target "separatism". But will it tackle the growing chasm or
deepen the fault-lines once more? On Monday, anti-terrorism prosecutor
Jean-François Ricard said Mr Paty had been the target of threats since he
showed the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a class about freedom of
speech earlier in October. The history and geography teacher advised
Muslim students to leave the room if they thought they might be offended. Mr
Ricard said that the killer went to the school on Friday afternoon and asked
students to point out the teacher. He then followed Mr Paty as he walked home
from work and used a knife to attack him. Tuesday evening's silent vigil
in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine was attended by thousands. Earlier in the day, the
French parliament observed a minute of silence. Mr Macron will attend a
ceremony with Mr Paty's family on Wednesday. The teacher will also be
posthumously given France's highest award, the Legion d'Honneur.
Depictions of
the Prophet Muhammad can cause serious offence to Muslims because Islamic
tradition explicitly forbids images of Muhammad and Allah (God). The issue is
particularly sensitive in France because of the decision by satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. A trial is currently
under way over the killing of 12 people by Islamist extremists at the
magazine's offices in 2015 following their publication. France's Muslim
community comprises about 10% of the population. Some French Muslims say they
are frequent targets of racism and discrimination because of their faith - an
issue that has long caused tension in the country.
^ This
terrorist beheading was not done by a lone Islamist terrorist, but was a finely
coordinated terrorist attack by so-called Muslim religious leaders and
religious fanatics. I hope that the French Government finds every single one of
them and makes an example of them – although they deserve the Death Penalty for
their crimes, but France doesn’t have that anymore. Muslim extremism and violence
has only risen in France, in Germany and in most of Europe and that is a
troubling and dangerous trend that needs to addressed and stamped-out. Any
group who advocates (and carries out) violence against others is a dangerous
group that needs to be stopped no matter who they are or where they are. Muslims
in France and Muslims around the world need to do A LOT more to denounce the
extremist elements within their ranks if they want to be treated as equals
where they live instead of as fanatical terrorists. There is no middle ground:
either you are against terrorism and for a free society or you are for terrorism
and chaos ^
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