How the young man described by one top official as a little failure went on to carry out Frances biggest terror spree since the mid-1990s is provoking anguished questions in one of the Wests most seasoned terrorism-fighting nations. Merahs weeklong motorcycle shooting rampage killed three French paratroopers, three Jewish schoolchildren and a rabbi, horrifying France and raising fears that al-Qaida had struck again in Europe. The 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent bragged of affiliation to the terror network, but officials say no evidence has turned up of such ties. A one-time auto body shop worker, Merah liked cars and motorcycles, and enjoyed spinning out in vacant-lot rodeos with any car that he got his hands on, said a French official close to the investigation. Merah partied and was seen dancing at a nightclub days before his first suspected shooting, on March 11. Bernard Squarcini, the head of the French police counterterrorism agency, told Le Monde newspaper that Merah had shown psychiatric issues in the past that might have contributed to his rampage. Merahs former lawyer, Christian Etelin, said that what tipped the balance was Merahs anger over what he saw as an unjust prison sentence and a failed effort to join the military. That laid the groundwork from which he threw himself into this religious fanaticism, in a spirit of vengeance against the French state, Etelin said. While Merah enjoyed nightlife, he also moved in a crowd of ultraconservative Muslims. During the police standoff that ended Thursday with his being shot dead, Merah said hed grown more radical in prison, often reading the Quran alone. http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=3691 OK, call me all the names in the book, but when I read this article, the inevitable conclusion I'm coming to is that the biggest contributor to driving this young men into "religious fanatism" is... Q'uran.
You're an American right-winger, aren't you? If so, I'm not gonna educate you gratis. You must pay first. In flesh.
I was born in Europe, lived in dozen countries and speak as many languages. I spend more time overseas then in US. Educate me, please?
I shouldn't need to enlighten you, then. What is it, you don't understand? "The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."
Unusual analogy and comparison... here is what someone wrote to me about the subject matter... Who Will Stand Up for the Jews of Toulouse? March 27, 2012 Dear Friend As you are no doubt aware, a gunman killed three children and a rabbi last week at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. The French authorities have now apprehended and killed this assassin, a young Muslim man they believe was trained by the Taliban and also had connections to al-Qaeda. Not only did the gunman drag one of his young victims around by her hair before murdering her execution-style, but he also filmed the attack. What continues to be appalling in the aftermath of this tragedy is the persistence of inflammatory and false reporting about Jews and Israel in the media. Recently a United Nations employee tweeted a photo allegedly showing a Palestinian child killed by recent Israeli air strikes in Gaza. The photo was a fake, actually taken more than three years ago. Once a retraction is issued and even if the employee is fired---as she should be---the impact on world opinion remains and the damage has been done. Israel and Jews are vilified once again. Even after the events in Toulouse, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Baroness Catherine Ashton compared the murders of four innocent Jews to "what is happening in Gaza." Again, the requisite retraction of said statement occurred and naturally Ashton also subsequently strongly condemned the Toulouse attacks, but the damage of her initial comments remains---another public figure openly displaying her biased thoughts. What would her response have been if the situation were reversed---if a Jew had killed Muslim children? Would she have compared it philosophically to Palestinian murders of a Jewish family in the West Bank? Hardly. It is high time to call this form of bias what it is---pure anti-Semitism. In fact, any comparison or comment hinting that Israel may be targeting Palestinian children in Gaza is a form of anti-Semitism. A recent editorial in The Commentator succinctly points out the baseless nature of these claims: "Let us be clear. There has not been one single instance, ever, of the Israeli military deliberately targeting Palestinian children in a school in Gaza. Palestinian children have died in the overall conflict of course. But even that indirect responsibility lies with the people who have started all the wars, namely Palestinian terror groups such as Hamas." These are very scary times in Europe, and we are scarcely 60 years removed from the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people. As the Simon Wiesenthal Center reports: Almost a third of Europeans show significant levels of anti-Semitism Over half of Europeans view Israel as "the greatest threat to world peace" Traditional anti-Semitic stereotyping of Jews as a money-hungry, power-seeking minority remains strong Anti-Jewish hate crimes, ranging from verbal harassment to vandalism and arson, and violence have become a fact of life across "the new Europe" As Holocaust survivor and author Eli Wiesel argues in this week's FLAME Hotline, in the aftermath of the Toulouse tragedy perhaps the only truly effective response available to us is "to remain Jewish and do everything to become more Jewish." May Wiesel's brief but moving article below inspire each of us, Jew and non-Jew alike, to rise to this occasion to increase our support of Israel. I urge you to pass these powerful thoughts along to friends, colleagues, and fellow congregants using the "send to a friend" button at the bottom of this email, or using the buttons above to share it via social media. P.S. One of the biggest reasons that Muslims cannot accept a Jewish state in the Middle East is the anti-Semitism inherent in the culture of most Muslim countries and in the Koran itself. While there are those who believe it's not politically correct to say such things in public, we at FLAME believe it's a worse sin to ignore this source of hate and this major obstacle to peace with Israel. That's why I invite you to review one of our recent position papers, which has appeared in national media reaching more than 10 million readers, including college newspapers. It's called "Muslim Arab Anti-Semitism: Why it makes peace very difficult – almost impossible." Please take a look, and if you agree that these kinds of outspoken public relations efforts for Israel are essential, I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's ability to influence public opinion comes from individuals like you, one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're able---with $500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) To donate online, just go to http://www.factsandlogic.org/make_a_donation.html. Now more than ever we need your support to ensure that Israel gets the support it needs---from the U.S. Congress, from President Obama, and from the American people. P.P.S. As of today, nearly 10,000 Israel supporters receive the FLAME Hotline at no charge every week. Won't you join us to start receiving these timely updates: Won't you help us get our subscriber number to 10,000 today? Just go to free subscription. The Tragedy in Toulouse by Elie Wiesel, The Algemeiner, March 21, 2012 Will the hatred of the Jews ever finally vanish? Will Jewish children always be in danger? This time, a murderer slew four Jews: a teacher and three young children. When a blood-thirsty Jew-hater wants to kill Jews, he goes first to the Jewish schools. Jewish children are his primary target. It's always been this way. This is what Pharaoh, King of Egypt did, what Hitler did. And this is what happened now. This is the background to the tragedy that occurred in the French city, Toulouse. I have visited that city many times. The Jewish community there is old and well-established – it dates back to the Middle Ages – but it is dynamic. In the streets, you can see Jews wearing yarmulkas. Nobody thinks of anti-Semitism. Spiritually, it is one of richest Jewish communities in France. Obviously, the terrible murderous attack evoked tears and rage among both Jews and non-Jews. The President, his ministers, and other political figures in France, as well as all the newspapers, have demanded that the murderer be found and punished. It often happens like this. Jewish blood is spilled and, temporarily, sympathy for Jews grows; the world warms to them. But the pain does not go away, nor does the anger. We think about the martyrs: Rabbi Yochanan Sandler, his sons Aryeh and Gavriel, and Miriam Monsonego. We say, as is Jewish tradition: "May G-d avenge their blood." That will be the response from Above. Our own answer must be concrete and to the point. When we are persecuted, our response must be: We will remain Jewish – and do everything to become more Jewish.
"OK, call me all the names in the book, but when I read this article, the inevitable conclusion I'm coming to is that the biggest contributor to driving this young men into "religious fanatism" is... Q'uran." Reading what went before, I'd say his problem was "psychiatric issues" as demonstrated by his partying , and his car and motorcycles fixation. People "getting religion" in jail is hardly new . I have noticed inmates with apparent psychiatric problems seem to gravitate to "blood and thunder" religions : Islam, Black Muslims,Hard-shell Baptist variations , Ultra Orthodox Judaism, etc.
Well yeah, that and the bizarre mention that "a group of young men threw a rock to scare reporters away" at the end of the article linked in the OP is a bit strange, indeed, but that's putting it mildly...a vulgar man could just as simply call it Zionist crap.
Dear Sir, I cannot do as you wish. I am unable to overcome my aversion to burdening the public with my name, and even the present critical time does not seem to me to warrant it. Whoever wants to influence the masses must give them something rousing and inflammatory and my sober judgement of Zionism does not permit this. I certainly sympathise with its goals, am proud of our University in Jerusalem and am delighted with our settlement's prosperity. But, on the other hand, I do not think that Palestine could ever become a Jewish state, nor that the Christian and Islamic worlds would ever be prepared to have their holy places under Jewish care. It would have seemed more sensible to me to establish a Jewish homeland on a less historically-burdened land. But I know that such a rational viewpoint would never have gained the enthusiasm of the masses and the financial support of the wealthy. I concede with sorrow that the baseless fanaticism of our people is in part to be blamed for the awakening of Arab distrust. I can raise no sympathy at all for the misdirected piety which transforms a piece of a Herodian wall into a national relic, thereby offending the feelings of the natives. Now judge for yourself whether I, with such a critical point of view, am the right person to come forward as the solace of a people deluded by unjustified hope. Your obediant servant, Freud http://www.politicalforum.com/political-opinions-beliefs/220182-letter-zionism.html
I maintain that Q'uran is the most important instrument, used in brainwashing jihadists. Do you contend?
No one can provide substance to what you have concluded. But, from my experience with Arabs and their belief, my reading the Qur'an... I tend to second your statement to a 't'.
Religion and schizophrenia have a lot in common when it comes to brain activity. It's not surprising that many schizos are religious and that many religious people have schizo tendencies. While any religion is capable of inducing fanatical and violent actions, Islam seems most suited for it currently, since it's apparently in a culturally adolescent phase. Essentially, Islam is currently going through the social struggles Christianity completed a few centuries ago.
I once had a Catholic friend tell me that in order for one to be the most Jewish, one has to become Christian. I would have willingly asked him if the same logic apliied between Christians and Muslims, but he was a tad disturbed already. Unfortunately I haven't seen him since he went to jail for attempted murder on his pater. A tragic story, really.
I'll agree that Qur'an is most important instrument used in process of brainwashing 'jihadists', namely it is the misinterpretation and manipulation of Qur'an that is being used as it was the identical case with the Bible in medieval ages when Bible written in latin solely was preached to illiterate population all over Europe. http://www.ted.com/talks/sharmeen_obaid_chinoy_inside_a_school_for_suicide_bombers.html
Within that article there's a bias and I agree that it isn't possible to avoid bias especially in such situations, but the same bias is something which brings couple of paradoxes inside the text, namely: If Koran or Qur'an is something that preaches 'exterminating' Jews as it is being depicted by this article and if anti-semitism is something that has roots solely in Muslim culture, ( I would even question if the author tagged Muslim Arabs correctly, since lately all Arabs whether Muslim or Christian share same anti-zionist feelings) how come that most of Jews during their major expels and exterminations found a place within Muslim communities and countries populated by Muslim majority?! Muslims if speaking generally, are not supposed to and are not anti semites, but are anti zionists along with other people from different spiritual and religious backgrounds, including followers of Judaism, sharing same feeling towards cowardice of Israeli acts against Arabs in Palestine and their own stand an agenda related to their neighbors. So if terrorism done by several militant groups, that is in past decade unfortunately done by Islamist militant groups claiming that they perform a 'jihad' thus prescribe that to their 'holly responsibility' and advocating throughout the world whilst tremendously attempting to attract more young and poor and as such liable for control Muslims - is something that is supposed to be attached to anti semitism, I don't really see a point in here where most of people in this thread are constantly trying to prove a wrong claim that Qur'an as a base of Islam, is demonizing young brainwashed jihadists but it is not demonizing rest of the population, which by the case is way bigger than the one being a hotspot of every conversation concerning international security. Also, crime against humanity namely a genocide is something universal, done by many cultures and many peoples, it is something that can be prescribed to Israel and central European, including big majority of western European population which is responsible for the Jewish massive disappearance from the face of the Earth during many periods in history, but again it is Muslim culture that degenerates Jews and threatens Jewish existence? perhaps Israeli, but not Jewish.
