Muslim France?
Secret Group Reported
to be Working to Alter French Nation
April 21, 2003
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
A secret fundamentalist Muslim network, whose goal is to alter the basic fabric of society, is infiltrating the government, society, and politics of France, according to a recent article in the French periodical L'Express.
Typically a bellwether of Western society and culture, France is often referred to as one of the "engines of Europe." Nearly one in ten Frenchmen now is an Islamic believer, with many Muslims coming to France from the former French colonies of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia in North Africa.
Observers note that the most impressive religious structures built in France today are not churches, but mosques.
The present influence of French Muslims on France's
foreign policy remains unclear. The influence of Islam
on French politics, however, may extend far beyond the
already considerable number of Muslims in France, according
to the recent L'Express report.
"A network is already in place in the large cities
of France…[employing] cold (blooded) tactics, willing
to use power, politically capable, and philosophically
opportunistic," observed L'Express.
Participants in the secret Islamic network are "university
trained, young, intelligent, and cynical," observed
L'Express.
The evidence for the existence and scope of an underground
Islamic network includes the discovery of a compact
disc containing strategy, tactics, and encouragement
for "a most secret combat" to control France," according
to L'Express.
Messages contained on the disc urge Muslims to increase their activity in French politics. Muslims should be prepared to work in political parties on both the left and right, with the aim of supporting candidates most agreeable to the growth of Islamic power in France.
Islamic activists are encouraged to gain power in local, regional and national politics by using what may be called the Muslim vote to influence the results of close elections. Reflecting present French political realities, Muslims are being told to favor right wing over leftist politicians.
Activist leaders are telling Muslims that, "Today, we are in a position to decide a certain number [of elections] between left and right." Muslims are warned, however, that the left is "incapable" of "reforming society and culture," and that Muslim influence on the left will not rival that of "the Jewish lobby," according to the information L'Express obtained.
The right wing, however, offers greater opportunity for the growth of Islamic political muscle, according to the L'Express report.
Although the right advocates "a certain number of measures which are harmful to the Muslim community…the pro-Arab politics of the right is seen as a first step [for substantial Muslim influence], and a mark of respect for Muslim culture," according to statements in the disc which L'Express acquired.
Areas targeted for Muslim political activism include Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseilles, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
The French Interior Ministry has officially stated its skepticism regarding the L'express account, and the Union of Islamic Organizations in France branded the report "scandalous," and is threatening legal action, according to the right-of-center French news daily, Le Figaro.
Copyright 2003
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