The Effects of Macron's Campaign
What is the real threat to France (and indeed to all Western countries) when it comes to 'radical Islam'? How many religious fanatics are actually going to go around killing and terrorizing others? France has close to six million Muslims (slightly less than 10 % of its population) - if a few of them tragically go mental and harm or kill some people, they need to be dealt with in accordance with the law. Those statistics are no worse than other ethnicities or groups of people harming civilians.
Tragic? Yes. A national problem? Definitely not.
The future of France itself is not fundamentally at stake because of a few crazed individuals; there is no existential threat to the character and existence of that nation because of a handful of people acting emotionally.
However, what *will* impact the future of France, and fundamentally change its discourse, is the reaction of Macron and his supporters. Policies are already being enacted across the country: many masjids have been shut down, random people (including the elderly grandfather of the perpetrator) have been arrested, and speech that should be protected is now becoming punishable by fines, or worse. The bulk of the French population is now being fed the lie that there is a 'Muslim problem' (which will require a 'solution' eventually, by the way...).
A leader who politicizes such acts, like Macron (and Trump in America, or Modi in India, or Bolsonaro in Brazil...) allows for the entire character of a nation to be hijacked, and causes his own citizens to be pitted against one another. Tensions rise because of such politicians and their antics, and not because of a random act of violence. The Far Right is able to pass draconian laws; minorities are harassed and intimidated; people who aren't qualified to be elected win landslide victories because of their messages of hate and the positioning of themselves as Messiah figures against the threat of 'the other'.
The real threat to the future of Western democracy is not a small handful of crazed radical individuals. It's leaders who use these individuals to further their own popularity at the expense of the civil order of their own society.
How easily history repeats itself! The Nazi party barely a century ago rose to power by taking advantage of the demonizing of another group, and a few random actions performed by the minority (such as the bombing of a parliament building and the assassination of a diplomat, allegedly by people of a Jewish background) were used to create mass hysteria amongst the population. The Nazi party positioned itself as the strong party that would protect the 'German peoples' against this group. The rest, as they say, is history.
A few hours ago, two hijabi ladies with their children were stabbed under the symbol of French freedom, the Eiffel Tower, and called 'dirty Arabs' and told to 'go home'. What's tragic isn't just the incident itself, but the clear and obvious double standards in how this incident is being treated, reported and received by the French population.
Allah protect us, I fear the worst is yet to come. And not just in France either. Both World Wars were sparked in regional areas and then spread around the globe. The situation globally is terrifying, and Allah's help is sought.
سلّم اللهم سلّم...
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق