France Final Blog Post

What We Covered

We throughout our blog posts have researched what ISIS is as a terrorist organization, why they have remained hostile towards France specifically, and why we should care learning about this information. We explored why France has been the target for many of these terrorist attacks and looked into the long strained relations between French government and their Muslim communities. The government in France has long clashed with Muslim citizens because of religious and political ideologies that do not necessarily work together. Because of this Muslims have been discriminated against for generations before ISIS. We also looked on how the violent acts in France have had an effect on the country. Anti-Muslim legislation has been passed to oppress religious freedom, Muslim civilians have been experiencing discrimination much more often after the attacks, and finally, there has been harsher restrictions regarding immigration where French political candidates have built large anti-immigration platform.

How I Researched

Specifically with the posts I did a simple internet search and looked through many news sources that I found to be credible. I found much of my information from CNN, LA Times, and other popular journalistic websites. It was relatively easy to find certain information, like details about specific terrorist attacks because it is a common focus of interest for many people. Many news sources have a specific bias and that is fairly obvious in websites like CNN. They tend to look at both sides of the incident and sympathize with the Muslim community. What was more difficult was finding an easy to understand version of the history between Muslims and France. This issue is very complex and the information behind it was sometimes hard to understand because of the many layers to the story regarding colonialism. Working as a group has made me become more accountable for my actions because I realized I am responsible for not only my grade but the group aspect of the project that needed my participation to work. It was helpful to get other’s insight and background information for this project and I liked working together on certain parts that seemed to just came together to flow into one specific blog post.

Reflection

With this project, I have become more aware of reasons behind ISIS’s emergence and their acts of terror. This has allowed me to look at both sides of each incident and analyze why radical groups like ISIS attack. Between France and their Muslim communities the tension has been coming to a breaking point for many years. This has helped me understand more of the context of what is happening in France and the effects it has on French people. I have learned a lot about group work from this project and specifically I have learned about being responsible for my part of research/writing/posting. When one person does not do their work it can decrease the whole group's productivity and I have tried to remain consistent and responsible for my share of the blog posts. I have learned how important communication is between group members. Good and open communication can make working together as a group easier and more efficient. From this project, I have discovered aspects about how to work together with others and how to take initiative in certain situations. I wish I had been more consistent in starting my research ahead of time and making sure each blog post was easy to understand and flowed together as one. Overall, I am happy with the work I put into this project and hope to do similar research in the future.

Effects of the Terror Attacks on France

Military Repercussions of Terror Attacks

As a result of the growing unrest and tension between the French people and the Muslim community both at home and abroad, several military actions have taken place in response to these terror attacks. These actions are prompted by both an immediate need to respond to these events in order to satisfy the populace and to fight the assailants alongside the international community in a long term battle to counter international terrorism. While actions and military operations are constantly happening among the French armed forces, it is after a major attack that we see an increased amount of more radical military protocol in response to the tragedy.

One of the most major outpourings of French military action in response to an attack can easily be seen after the events of Friday, November 13th, 2015 in which 129 people were massacred in 5 different locations around Paris. In retaliation, the French dropped 20 bombs on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria the following Sunday. These airstrikes, carried out by 10 French fighter jets launched from Jordan and the Persian Gulf, effectively wiped out a key ISIS command center and a training facility during the raid. This was the largest airstrike carried out by France since the extension of their bombing campaign in Syria the previous September (Calderwood, 2016). In a show of support for the French people, the United States military scrawled “From Paris, with love” across several of their hellfire missiles bound for ISIS targets. Images of these missiles later went viral and fueled the “justified retaliation” mindset of people around the world.

These military operations are not solely confined outside the borders of Métropole. A series of internal raid took place following the November 13th attacks which uncovered caches of weapons held by ISIS supporters around the country in some of the nation’s largest cities; including Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse, Calais and two other suburbs of Paris. The largest of these raids, in Lyon, turned up a rocket launcher and an enormous cache of weapons assumed to be used in future attacks (Blundy, 2016).

U.S. hellfire missiles bound for Syria bear the phrase “From Paris, With Love” in a show of support from the American military to the people of France. (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/missile-from-paris-love-message-6839753)

Anti-Muslim Legislation

Outside of military operations, the French government has also imposed several pieces of domestic legislation that some see as specifically targeting the Muslim community. The most prominent of these legislative acts in the media was the ban of “Burkinis” on public beaches in many municipalities around France, particularly along the French Riviera. It was in late July that the the mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, placed a ban on burkinis on public beaches, calling them “the uniform of extremist Islam”. In the following weeks, more than 30 other French municipalities placed bans on the bathing suit, supposedly under the idea that they were oppressive to Muslim women (Micallef, 2016).

After this ban was put in place, there were immediately challenges of its legitimacy. On August 26, France’s highest court, the French Council of State, ruled that the ban should be overturned and burkinis should be allowed on beaches. While this was supposed to be enacted on a national level, many mayors vowed not to acknowledge the overturning of the ban.

While this ban was supposedly rooted in the idea that Muslim women should be able to wear whatever they want on the beach and that the burkini was suppressing their liberty, many Muslim women contend that that is a false belief. They believe that the burkini has allowed them access to aquatic activities for the first time while still being able to show modesty; a choice they claim is their own. Before the invention of the burkini, whose inventor Aheda Zanetti is in fact a Muslim woman, many women in the Islamic community were unable to swim in public spaces or fully enjoy the seaside experience (Zanetti, 2016). This is yet another example of cultural miscommunication between France and it’s Islamic community and has further deepened the divide between the two groups.

French Muslim Civilians

The intense anti-muslim sentiment in France has not excluded innocent Muslim French civilians throughout everyday life. France holds one of the largest populations of Muslims in Europe (Bulos, 2016, p.1). The Algerian War in 1950’s holds dark memories for past generations of Muslims in France as they were expected to easily convert to French culture (Power, 2015, p.1). This deemed difficult due to France’s emphasis on secularism and Islam’s guidelines regarding outright proclamation of faith. (Power, 2015, p.1). The effects of terrorist attacks in France are deeply harming the Muslim community as they are ostracised and estranged from society. On July 14th a man, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, ran a large freight into a crowd of people watching the national Bastille Day firework show in Nice. This attack has further divided the country and changed the public’s opinion on Muslims. The majority of the prison population in France is Muslim (Drew, 2016, p.1)  The Muslim French community is not as radical as they are portrayed though. They believe in taking legal action against discrimination and not violence. It is difficult for an average Muslim civilian as they deal with the attacks on their country and as they are often blamed for the violence (Power, 2105, p.1). Marine Le Pen is the prominent leader of the right wing National Front has created her 2017 campaign focusing on anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim ideology (Drew, 2016, p.1) The terrorist attacks have done nothing but further promote her cause as she spreads hateful rhetoric. The innocent civilians are seen taking the fall for the violent crimes of the few radicalists (Power, 2015, p.1).

Immigration Tactics

Following the attack on Nice, France’s platform regarding anti-muslim/ anti-immigration has grown tremendously. The attack has served as evidence for political parties that express that Islam “poses a mortal danger to European societies” (Smale, Castle, 2016, p.1).  The answer to this issue is taming immigration. Geert Wilders, a right wing Dutch politician has expressed, “This is a war and it will not stop until we close our borders for Islam and de-Islamize our societies. No more terror. No more Islam!” In a survey from the Pew Research Center, it found that in 80% of European countries more than half of people believed that refugees from Muslim countries would increase their chances of terrorist attacks. It has been found that perpetrators of the Paris terrorist attacks crossed the Belgian-French border during a rise in immigration. This has affected the outlook on Europe’s very open borders and immigration policy. The leader of the National Front Marine Le Pen has made comments involving an anti-immigration platform (Smale, Castle, 2016, p.1).

Conclusion

Overall, the terrorist attacks in France have shown to affect many aspects of life. Muslim communities are suffering because of the bias created by these violent attacks. As terrorism continues the civilians are the ones living with the consequences. France fails to distinguish violence from its associated religion. This itself is spreading hate and discrimination.

Works Cited

Blundy, Rachel. (2015, November 16). Rocket Launcher Seized and Five People Arrested After

Anti-terror Raid in Lyon. The Evening Standard. Retrieved from http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/french-police-arrest-five-people-after-seizing-rocket-launcher-during-antiterror-raid-in-lyon-a3115136.html

 Bulos, N. (2016, July 16). Why France has a more fraught relationship with its Muslim communities than the U.S. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-france-threat-history-20160716-snap-story.html

Calderwood, Imogen. (2015, November 16). ‘From Paris, With Love’: Emotive Message of

Revenge Scrawled Across the U.S. Bombs Destined for Syria. Daily Mail. Retrieved

from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3320252/From-Paris-Love-Emotive-message-revenge-scrawled-U-S-Hellfire-missiles-destined-Syria.html

 Drew, K. (2015, July 15). In France, Anxiety Deepens After Attack | Best Countries ... Retrieved November 16, 2016, from http://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2016-07-15/in-france-anxiety-deepens-after-attack

How the Paris terror attacks affect daily life. (2015, November 24). Retrieved November 16, 2016, from http://www.thelocal.fr/20151124/how-paris-terror-attacks-impact-on-daily-life 

 Smale, A., & Castle, S. (2016, July 16). Attack in France Fuels Anti-Immigrant Parties on Europe's Rights. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/world/europe/attack-in-france-fuels-anti-immigrant-parties-on-europes-right.html?_r=0

Micallef, Joseph V. (2016, 12 September). Is France Right to Ban the Burkini? The Huffington

Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/is-france-right-to-ban-th_b_11845732.html

Power, C. (2015, January 8). Why There's Tension Between France and Its Muslim Popualtion. Retrieved from http://time.com/3659241/paris-terror-attack-muslim-islam/

Zanetti, Aheda. (2016, 24 August). I Created the Burkini to Give Women Freedom, Not Take it

Away. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/24/i-created-the-burkini-to-give-women-freedom-not-to-take-it-away

French Terror Attacks

Over the past two years, there have been a string of terror attacks enacted by ISIS throughout France which have grabbed the world’s attention and called for tighter anti terrorism legislation. From the Charlie Hebdo bombing of January of 2015 in Paris to the most recent major attack on Bastille Day in Nice, these events have shifted contemporary politics in an unchartered direction and have provoked new discussions on immigration, refugee crises and global security. These possibly monumental discussions between world powers have consequently popularized the continuing secularization of France, anti muslim rhetoric in the media and even fostered laws specifically targeted at the Muslim community.

How ISIS emerged

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Levant (ISIL) is a radical group following the ideas of a fundamental Wahhabi doctrine. In 2014 the group became widely known for attacking and gaining control of major cities in Iraq such as Fallujah and Mosul, however the group originated in 1999 under the name Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. It was during the early 2000’s that the group became infamous for its use of suicide bombers against civilians, the Iraqi military and American convoys. In 2004 the group pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and changed their name to Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn or al-Qaeda in Iraq (IQA). From then until 2006 the group remained largely unchanged, however it consolidated with several smaller organizations and tribes where it rapidly expanded and became the Islamic State of Iraq, eventually encompassing Syria during the civil war in 2013 and officially became known as ISIS.

Where does ISIS’s anti-French sentiment come from?

The U.S. lead coalition against ISIS, also known as the ISIL, Levian or, Daesh, was formed on 5th September 2014, and initially had 9 member countries to fight against ISIS (Mathiot, N. and Nelson, J.). Among the EU coalition partners, France was one of the most active members and began airstrikes against ISIS in September 2014, the first military intervention of France in the form of airstrikes in Middle East. France has one of the highest Muslim populations in Europe and it includes more than a few ISIS sympathizers. The French have also passed anti hijab laws which have been seen by Muslims as restriction against religious expression.

The terrorist attacks in France started with the massacre at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo (A satirical news magazine) on January 7th, 2015 which left 12 dead. It was followed by a Kosher supermarket attack that killed 4 hostages (Diego M.). al-Qaeda claimed the responsibility and was considered as revenge for insulting the Prophet and for the air strikes. After this event, France stepped up its involvement in fight against both ISIS and al-Qaeda by increasing the number of air strikes on terrorist bases in Iraq and also they’ve deployed a nuclear powered aircraft carrier to significantly enhance their striking capability while waging the war on the terror.

ISIS became upset with France for coining a new name to the group – Daesh which means “To trample” or in a broader sense “enemy of Islam”. ISIS, which was initially focused on creation of a caliphate, changed its strategy to extend mass casualty attacks on the civilians outside the conflict zones, particularly in the western countries. ISIS started developing its global network to radicalize their followers with a systematic propaganda campaign which led to creation of lone wolves who can take an attack to the front door step of many western nations. November attack in Paris which killed more than 129 lives and left 350 injured (Bolton, D.) - highlighted change in ISIS strategy and was a reflection of the dangers that surrounds the world.

This attack on Paris led to severe retaliatory air strikes by France against ISIS which also changed the rules of engagement on air strikes. Severe casualties were inflicted at terrorist base camps with little regard to civilian collateral damages. Attacks on western cities also forced the global intelligence community and the security personnel to revisit their strategies in their war against terrorism and called for reassessment of ISIS as a terror group and its reach on radicalizing lone wolves.

Why is this worthy of our attention?

France is considered as a large source of world power, it is the third largest nation in Europe and has been a huge role in much of Europe’s events (Noin, 1993, p. 1). France went through many struggles including World War II but has come out as one of the world’s largest agricultural and industrial providers (Noin, 1993, p.1). The country is a large component in the European Market. France is also one of America’s closest allies (Columbia University Press, 2012, p. 1).  The attacks of France have had devastating effects on the economy. Large consumers have made plans to stay away from crowded retail areas. This issue is not only specific to France but the continent of Europe. In cities such as London, during the busiest shopping times of the year, shoppers have avoided popular shopping malls even though security has increased. Tourism has suffered specifically from the Paris attacks in November 2015 because of this widespread fear (Laird, 2015, p.1). People are finding it harder to cross the border into different nations since the attacks.  Many nations have created temporary border controls to anticipate the increase of people fleeing the Middle East and Africa. It has been suspected that one perpetrator of the Paris attacks entered the European Union through Greece. Large manufacturers are now also finding it more difficult to sell product abroad because of the border’s increasing strictness.This particular effect can be hard to change after immigration restrictions are set in place (Laird, 2105, p.1).

The United States specifically should care about ISIS because this militant group is one that reigns in violence and terror. ISIS itself has declared violence towards anyone that steps in its path claiming those who do not follow their radical ideals to be “non-believers” (Hogan, 2015, p.1). There are single attacks in The United States that have connections to ISIS. Americans who choose to follow ISIS and perform attacks are increasing in number (Greenburg 2016, p.1). This radical terrorist group has asked Western nation followers to stand up and fight with them. Many of those who have been caught by the government with connections to ISIS have had plans of traveling out to Syria to fight alongside these terrorists (Greenburg, 2016, p.1). It is a scary reality as domestic attacks continue to occur in the United States.

Works Cited

Why did ISIS target France? (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/diego-muro/why-did-isis-target-france

Laird, L. (2015, November 16). The Paris Attacks And The Economic Impact Of Terrorism. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurielaird/2015/11/16/the-paris-attacks-and-the-economic-impact-of-terrorism/#40691743386d

Noin, D. (1993). History of France. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/History/DF_history.shtml

France: History. (2012). Retrieved October 11, 2016, from http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/france-history.html

Yourish, K., & Williams, J. (2016). ISIS in America. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/04/us/isis-in-america.html?_r=0

Hogan, B. (2015, September 06). Why Americans Should Care About ISIS. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/problem-of-isis

Beauchamp, Z. (2015). ISIS, a history: how the world's worst terror group came to be. Vox. Retrieved 13 September 2016, from http://www.vox.com/2015/11/19/9760284/isis-history

Crooke, A. (2014). You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 September 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html

Tony Blair Faith Foundation. (2014). Diving Deep into the Origins of ISIS. Retrieved 13 September 2016, from http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/reports-analysis/report/diving-deep-origins-isis

HISTORY. (2015). The history of ISIS. Retrieved 14 September 2016, from http://www.history.co.uk/shows/terror-seven-days-in-paris/articles/the-history-of-isis

Bolton, D. (2015, November 18). Paris Attack Victims. Retrieved September 17, 2016, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attack-victims-list-french-government-identifies-all-129-people-killed-in-paris-terrorist-a6739116.html

Muro, D. (2015, November 20). Why did ISIS target France? Retrieved September 17, 2016, from https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/diego-muro/why-did-isis-target-france

Quintana, E., Eyal, J., Mathiot, N., & Nelson, J. (2015, October). Inherently Unresolved The Military Opera on against ISIS. Retrieved September, 17, from https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/op_inherently_unresolved_-_the_military_operation_against_isis.pdf.