Are you a jihadist? Here’s the French government’s checklist
Counter Jihad Front France 21 Comments
In the wake of jihad mass murder of the editorial staff of the French weekly Charlie Hebdo, the French government has spent $480 million to stop recruitment to jihad. Included in this counter terror program is a list of signs to look for — “suddenly changing eating habits,” “not listening to music,” and “rejecting family members.”
The Washington Post quotes a “French anti-Islamophobia watchdog” finger-wagging the new French counter terror measures:
“…. reflects the collective hysteria that has engulfed France’ since the attacks in early January.”
Let’s see what “hysteria” ensues when jihadists open fire on the Washington Post editorial staff. Will it be hysteria then, tools?
What is missing from the French chart on what to look for — signs of “radicalism” — is religiosity. A previously secular Muslim who is now devout, pious =- that’s your red flag. And videos aimed at stopping Islamic State propaganda is not going to work. It’s not propaganda — it’s holy war in the cause of Allah. It’s glorious bloodshed to these savages.
As for this 8-year-old boy who refused to stand in a moment of silence to mark the Charlie Hebdo jihad slaughter and his comment, “I am with the terrorists,” he gets that from home. Police should be questioning his family, not just him.
“Chart: Are you a jihadist? The French government made this checklist,” Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post, January 29, 2015
On Wednesday, the most sensational story to emerge from France was that of police questioning an 8-year-old boy in the southern city of Nice for allegedly making statements sympathetic to extremist militancy. The child is said to have declared, “I am with the terrorists” at school after not taking a part in a moment of silence to mark the Jan. 7 terror attack on the Paris offices of satirical news magazine Charlie Hebdo. He reportedly told police when questioned that he didn’t know what terrorism was.
The incident, says a French anti-Islamophobia watchdog, “reflects the collective hysteria that has engulfed France” since the attacks in early January.
The French government, meanwhile, has launched a $480 million initiative to combat Islamist extremism at home. The new counter-terror efforts include a $60 million online presence, anchored at a new government Web site dubbed “Stop Djihadisme.” It has videos aimed at countering the propaganda of the Islamic State, which has lured hundreds of French nationals to join its ranks in Syria and Iraq. And it offers this chart below, a guide to the “first signs” of someone potentially going down the path of radicalization.
france terror
The chart presents a series of behavioral changes that supposedly ought to lead to concern. They range, it has to be said, from the obvious (frequently visiting extremist Web sites) to the rather vague (not listening to music, for example). Other warning signs include a significant shift in one’s diet, the abandoning of sporting activities, a change in wardrobe toward more traditional garments, falling out with old friends and quitting school or one’s place of employ.
This all makes sense, though it hardly presents a foolproof guide to spot the radicalization of a would-be jihadist. As your humble scribe noted yesterday, I’ve recently succumbed to a number of these behaviors myself — but I don’t think you need to report me to the French government. And terrorists are often far more clever about concealing their agenda.
The chart above risks the sort of criticism and mockery we’ve already seen leveled at the U.S. State Department “Think Again, Turn Away” campaign, which actively trolls jihadists and jihadist sympathizers online. Some analysts have called the effort “embarrassing” and “ineffective.”
The State Department, so far, seems undeterred. On Wednesday, it welcomed France’s campaign into the fold.Screen Shot 2015-01-29 at 7.13.09 PM
Mimicking the State Department’s silly twitter war against this a vicious and bloody enemy is a recipe for failure. The last place countries fighting jihad ought to look to is America. Obama is part of the problem.
- See more at:
http://pamelageller.com/2015/01/are-you-a-jihadist-heres-the-french-governments-checklist.html/#sthash.0MlHguHL.dpuf
