Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
With the suspects of yesterday’s deadly terrorist attack on a French magazine still on the loose, experts around the world are asking the question – will France finally confront its increasingly threatening Muslim population?
According to The Washington Times, France has the largest Muslim population in Europe with almost seven million immigrants living in largely segregated neighborhoods throughout the country. In too many areas, these neighborhoods have become “mini caliphates” where French authorities generally look the other way and let the people govern themselves under the auspices of Sharia law. As a result, terrorist cells are breeding all over the country.
Authorities in Paris, where yesterday’s attack on the magazine, Charlie Hebdo, left 12 dead and more than 20 wounded, have been quietly ceding control of heavily Muslim neighborhoods to Islamists. In fact, some Muslim residents openly boast about one day taking over the country and setting aside Western democracy for the harsh Islam-based Sharia.
“The situation is out of control, and it is not reversible,” said Soeren Kern, an analyst at the Gatestone Institute and author of annual reports on the Islamization of France.
“Islam is a permanent part of France now. It is not going away,” Mr. Kern said. “I think the future looks very bleak. The problem is a lot of these younger-generation Muslims are not integrating into French society. Although they are French citizens, they don’t really have a future in French society. They feel very alienated from France. This is why radical Islam is so attractive because it gives them a sense of meaning in their life.”
And because authorities have been allowing them to “coexist”, they have become bolder and are now trying to impose Sharia law on the rest of the population by forbidding any public criticism of Islam and launching deadly attacks on anyone who dares to cross them.
“What they are trying to do is shut down any sort of criticism of Islam, any sort of speech, cartoons, discussion, anything,” Kern said. “Essentially, the French government and the other European governments have lost control over the situation. It’s a snowball that is growing bigger and bigger, in particular over the past 10 years.”
At this point, there are so-called “no go” areas all over France where Muslims are in complete control of the neighborhoods and where non-Muslims dare not tread.
“They’re operating with impunity, apparently secure in the knowledge that authorities cannot or will not act decisively to stop them,” said JihadWatch’s Robert Spencer. “And with the universal denial and obfuscation of the clear motive for the Charlie Hebdo attack, they have good reason to think that.”
Meanwhile, French citizens took to the streets last night to vent their fury about the attack and show the world that they are “Not Afraid”. This only fueled an already rising tide of discontent within several European nations for the growth of an immigrant population they see as increasingly hostile to the West.
Thousands rallied in cities such as Tours, Toulouse, Brest, Lyon, Rennes and Poitiers, holding up signs saying “Je Suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) or pens to profess their determination to defend freedom of the press. The rallies quickly caught fire across Europe and brought people out into the streets of London, Barcelona, Berlin and Rome.
Clearly, citizens want their governments to do more to check the encroachment of radicalized Islam on their countries. Only time will tell if the urgent need to defend our democratic way of life will finally take precedence over the political correctness that has left the West dangerous weakened.
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