Evidence the "Paris Riots" Are Actually the "French Intifada"

This entry will be updated regularly, because it may be the only comprehensive documentation of the Intifada-like elements of the French rioting.

Note: This contrarian thesis, articulated first in a comprehsive way here first, has now begun to be expressed throughout the conservative media. For example Jack Kelly's opinion piece appears to have been written using this entry (see below).

The New York Times deserves singling out for its sweeping blindness: "the violence in France has not taken on religious overtones". The Washington Post makes a nearly identical assertion: "Islamic ideology and leaders play no role in the disturbances, and many of those participating are not Muslim."

Here, then, is the refutation culled from many sources, including one from the Times article that denies any Islamic overtones whatsoever. The biggest smoking gun is actually from the same Washington Post that denied any connection, just eight days prior to the insurrection (see the first "Evidence" article below). Note that most of the items below are not headlines and that Islam defines "religion" in much more political terms than other faiths.

Evidence:

(Dec. 15) al-Qaeda-Linked Arsenal Uncovered in Paris Riots' Source
"Large quantities of military weapons and explosives" were uncovered, including assault rifles, dynamite and TNT. Investigators believe that Islamic terrorists were financed by criminal gang activity, including a confessed armed robbery.

Counter-Terrorism Head: Hundreds of Islamist Terror Attacks Foiled

French Jews Fleeing Wave of Muslim Anti-Semitism
French immigration to Canada up 700% in 4 years. Dozens of Jewish buildings firebombed, covered in anti-Semitic graffiti and sprayed with bullets. Those remaining are bomb-proofing, bullet-proofing and hiding identities while Chirac says "There is no anti-Semitism in France"

Leading French Philosopher: "It is clear that this is a revolt with an ethno-religious character"
"In France there are also other immigrants whose situation is difficult - Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese - and they're not taking part in the riots....I have found that they are also sending the youngest people to the front lines of the struggle. You've seen this in Israel - they send the youngest ones to the front because it's impossible to put them in jail when they're arrested."

Hizbut Tehrir Behind French Intifada
All indicators point to the involvement of...the London-based Hizbut Tehrir (HT) in the violence by sections of angry Muslim youth....With the help of the sleeper cells, which the HT has already established in Paris and other parts of France for some months, they drew up plans for keeping the violence sustained in order to further radicalise and mobilise the youth....For this purpose, they exploited the already prevalent anger in the Muslim community of France....Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) in Pakistan has instructed its cells in France to assist the HT clandestinely as best as they can. Similarly, the Jamat-ul-Furqa (JUF)...has also asked its followers to assist the HT

Backgrounder on the HT as the Ideological Integrator of the Global Jihad (originally published in Foreign Affairs)

Non-Muslims Beaten to Death
To my critics in France claiming the term Intifada is only used by uninformed foreign journalists-the author is a local editor of a Paris-based journal.

Newsweek Breaks Mainstream News Media Taboo on Term "Intifada"
In hundreds of French housing projects and ghettos populated by mostly Muslim Arab and African immigrants and their French children and grandchildren, "normal" has been for years a sort of chronic intifada, even if it was invisible to most of France and the rest of the world. According to research conducted by the government's domestic-intelligence network, the Renseignements Generaux, French police would not venture without major reinforcements into some 150 "no-go zones" around the country?and that was before the recent wave of riots began on Oct. 27.

Arson Attack Nearly Destroys 3rd French Church

Report: French Jews Arrive in Canada Claiming Refugee Status
A large number have fled anti-Semitism for Israel in recent years

Report: Fire-Related Attacks on 6 Synagogues and Jewish Buildings
Don't believe the many articles saying anti-Semitism Not a Factor

French Intelligence Estimates 40,000 Al-Qaeda Recruits Engaged in Paramilitary Training

Details on the 40,000 French Al-Qaeda Recruits (From Debka Feb. 2004-usual caveats about their unreliability apply-some amazing scoops/some major gaffes)
al Qaeda...organizing them in military-style units. They meet regularly for training in the use of weapons and explosives, combat tactics and indoctrination and are controlled from local and district command centers under the organization?s national French command....Today, French counter-terror sources are willing to admit...that those clandestine terrorist cells may well be at the bottom of the current riots. They note the history of the Palestinian uprising, which kicked off in 1987 with stones and petrol bombs...covert nucleus of trained and indoctrinated Islamic terrorists al Qaeda buried inside Europe is being turned against the continent, starting in France

"Widespread Belief that the Unrest is Being Fostered by the Islamists"

Riot-Supporting Youths Mention "Jihad" Repeatedly in Interview

The Rioters Cite the "Disrespect" of France for Islam as Part of the Origin of their Revolt

Journalist: "It may well be that the motive for the rioting was nothing more than an inchoate grievance allied to youthful exuberance and a penchant for bad behaviour, but it was Islam which gave it an identity and also its retrospective raison d'?tre"

15 Men Beat Up Jewish Footballers with Sticks

"Dirty Jew" Painted on a Dreyfus Statue in Paris

France Says Extremists Are Enlisting Its Citizens. Police Assert Some Trained in Mideast Could Attack Paris (Oct. 19-8 days prior to riots)
One French official said the extremists were using a virtual "underground railroad" through Syria to spirit European and Middle Eastern citizens into and out of Iraq....French citizens had undergone terrorist training at camps in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon....French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called the terror risk for Paris "very high"...."Iraq is a live-fire training ground in urban terrorism, and that's exactly what we fear"...."What the war in Iraq has done is radicalize these people and make some of them prepared to support terrorism. Iraq is a great recruiting sergeant"....Paris an obvious target...."What worries me the most is the behavior of GSPC, which has described France as their number one target"....making an attack on France "inevitable."

Paris Chief Prosecutor: "Attacks Show Signs of Strategy and Coordination"

Evidence Found of Sophisticated Riot-Support Infrastructure (Including a Bomb Factory)

Riot Tactics "Bear an Eerie Resemblance" to Muslim Rebels in Chechnya

Rioter on bin Laden: "He Gives Pride Back to the Muslims"

Immigrants Now Refer to themselves as "Muslims," Not "French Arabs" as Previously

Rioters Sparing Cars with Islamic Stickers

Rioters Sparing Muslim-Owned Businesses

Synagogues Set Ablaze

Churches Set Ablaze

French Newspapers Speculate Al-Qaeda Involved in Orchestration

Significant Jihadi Presence Among French Muslims-Six Paris Muslims Recently Arrested for Recruiting for the Jihad in Iraq

France Rioters: 'Each Night We Make This Place Baghdad'

Residents Call Area "Baghdad-on-the-Seine"

Rioters Term Uprising "Ramadan Intifada"

Rioters Scream "Jihad"

Rioters Scream "God is Great" (Allahu Akbar)

Video of Rioters Screaming "Allahu Akbar"

"Rioters Often Use Slogans of Radical Fundamentalism"

Attackers Avoiding Muslim-Owned Businesses

Laughing Rioter Shows Reporter Cell Phone Video of Islamist Beheading

French Riots Come After Multiple Warnings Of Islamist Attacks


Recommended Opinion Pieces:

The Battle for France: The riots aren?t about social justice but who will rule, by Paul Belien

Jack Kelly: Liberal Illusions in Flames
Kelly's column appears to have been created almost exclusively from this IRIS post: he used both of the media bias quotes, 2 of the 3 Islamist Web site quotes, and 4 of the pieces of evidence. To which I say: "thank you."

Reflections on the Revolution in France, by Daniel Pipes
An absolute must-read, particularly for my vehement critics, who may be found in the comments section

The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris
Theodore Dalrymple of the stellar City Journal predicted the uprising in this absolute must-read from 2002

?Eurabia? Defined
Here is an excellent summary of the groundbreaking Bat Ye'or book which laid out the frightening context of the end of European Civilization as a conscious decision its leadership

Falluja-Sur-Seine? There's a Reason the Media is Reluctant to Connect the Dots on the French Riots

Wake Up, Europe, You've a War on Your Hands, by Mark Steyn
"For half a decade, French Arabs have been carrying on a low-level intifada against synagogues, kosher butchers, Jewish schools, etc. The concern of the political class has been to prevent the spread of these attacks to targets of more, ah, general interest."

Islamist Threat in France, by Tony Blankley
Blankley predicted this violence because he has a clear understanding of the problem

Why the Islamists May Succeed in France, by Jack Kelly


Other Opinion Pieces:

It?s Jihad, Idiot!

French Intefadeh, by Ezra Levant

Islamization in Europe, by Ze'ev Schiff


Related Items

3 TV Stations (TF1, France 2 and France 3) Admit to Suppressing Riot Coverage

French News Director Admits Suppressing Riot News for Partisan Political Purposes

Report: France Might be Censoring Conservative Blogs to Suppress Riot News

France 3 Decides to Stop Announcing the Number of Burnt Cars in its National Newspapers

Imam Presents Plan for Replicating French Rioting in UK

Death Threats for Teachers in Muslim Areas Trying to Teach French or European History

Nine Minutes of BBC Riot News Airtime Included No Mention of "the One Thing the Rioters Had in Common ? Their Religion"
"Instead, we got more stuff about deprivation, poverty, unemployment, etc. Is this official censorship, self-censorship or merely ignorance allied to wishful thinking?"

Muslim Groups May Gain Strength From French Riots


Islamist Web Sites:
Islamist Web Site #1: "The cops are petrified of us, everything must burn, starting Monday, the operation ?Midnight Sun? starts, tell everyone else, rendezvous for Momo and Abdul in Zone 4 ... jihad Islamia Allah Akhbar."

Islamist Web Site #2: "Oh, you Muslim people in Europe, walk with and like your brothers in Paris and learn that these people are dogs"

Islamist Web Site #3: "You don?t really think that we?re going to stop now? Are you stupid? It will continue, non-stop. We aren?t going to let up. The French won?t do anything and soon, we will be in the majority here."


Blog Analysis:
French Muslims Issue False Fatwa

French "Anti-Riot" Fatwa: Weasel Words in Action

See also: Noteworthy News-French Intifada