French Imams Reaching Out- Visit Drancy Holocaust Memorial and Israel

In France, where anti-Semitism flourishes, dozens of  French Imams took a trip to the Holocaust Memorial at Drancy  (a suburb of Paris) on February 4th this year to pay tribute to the almost 70,000 French Jews who were deported to Germany from the internment camp located in Drancy. About 17 of those Imams had visited Israel in December, and last March some went to Israel to pray for the children that Mohamed Merah massacred in Toulouse.  The visit was to show the French people that not all Muslims are extremists, and that the religion is one of peace and tolerance. It's hard for many to believe that, with all the violence perpetrated in the name of Islam, and the reluctance on the part of Muslims to integrate into Western society. According to the Le Monde's IPSOS poll, 74% of the French population believe that Islam is incompatible with French values.  Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam of the mosque in Drancy is trying to change that perception.

Of Tunisian heritage Chalghoumi backed the burqa/niqab ban. He has also been actively pursuing dialogue with Jews, in spite of death threats.  Chalghoumi actually agreed with then President Sarkozy's assertion that "The burqa is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement..", and that France ".. cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,"and therefore they are not welcome in France.

Although he didn't agree with all the proposed provisions of the ban- including fining women for wearing the veil, or cutting off their child support payments- he definitely agreed that immigrant women who wear the veil should not be given citizenship. In 2010, he told Le Parisien:

"Yes, I am for a legal ban of the burqa, which has no place in France, a country where women have been voting since 1945."

"...full face veils had no basis in Islam and "belong to a tiny minority tradition reflecting an ideology that scuttles the Muslim religion."

"The burqa is a prison for women, a tool of sexist domination and Islamist indoctrination." 

"Having French nationality means wanting to take part in society, at school, at work," he said.

"But with a bit of cloth over their faces, what can these women share with us? If they want to wear the veil, they can go to a country where it's the tradition, like Saudi Arabia."

In this 2011 interview on Al Arabiya TV, Chalghoumi discusses how Islam has become a religion of extremism which denies women their rights. For his outspoken condemnation of extremism he walks around with police escorts.

It's too bad that he's only one voice being drowned out in a sea of politically correct voices that are too afraid to say "this is our country, adapt or get out."  It's too bad he's only one man attempting to dialogue with Jews in a bid to create peace on this planet. It's too bad he's being threatened with death because of those attempts. I commend him for having the courage to buck the Islamic 'religious' system, and standing up for human rights. If he is indeed sincere in that quest.

Dad of Toulouse Murderer Mohamed Merah Wants To Sue France For His Son's Death

Mohamed Benalel Merah, the father of 23-year-old Islamist al-Qaeda devotee Mohamed Merah (the 'Toulouse Massacre' murderer) has decided he wants his son's body to be buried in Algeria.

“(God willing), I have decided to bury my son in Algeria.  [snip] Mohamed has an Algerian passport and has been listed with the (Algerian) consulate in Toulouse since his birth."

Good riddance. 

He also has said he intends on suing France for shooting his son instead of 'taking him alive.' 

“France is a big country that had the means to take my son alive. They could have knocked him out with gas and taken him in,” he said. “They preferred to kill him.”

“I will hire the biggest named lawyers and work for the rest of my life to pay (their) costs. I will sue France for killing my son.”

What?  I realize parents of murderers and criminals are often in denial about the evil their kids commit (unless of course he condones what his reprobate son did) but, come on. He jumped off the balcony in a blaze of gunfire (his weapon) after a 32 hour standoff and refusing to surrender. Anti-terror prosecutor Francois Molins claimed that Merah basically said it's me or them, adding “If it’s me, who cares? I’ll go to paradise.” Good luck with those 72 virgins.

What's interesting, though, is in the past he had no aspirations for martyrdom. According to Molins  Merah said " he does not have a suicidal spirit, he did not have a martyr's soul, he preferred to kill and remain alive."  Things changed, I guess, once he was cornered.  Apparently, and all he wanted was to bring "France to its knees."  Molins also said that "He expressed no regret apart from not having had enough time to kill more victims." 

It's quite obvious Merah was a sick pup (he taped all 3 attacks), with a checkered, criminal past.

Two years ago, Merah "held" a 15-year-old boy in his apartment and forced him to watch videos of al Qaeda beheadings. When confronted by his mother, he assaulted her -- and she made a report to police. French media report that after the incident Merah donned military fatigues and yelled "I'm al Qaeda" in the street near the woman's house. By then, he already had multiple convictions for minor offenses, and several jail sentences.

France also knew about his travels (twice) to Waziristan/Afghanistan, where Merah claims he had contact with al-Qaeda and where he received his training.  He was even arrested in Afghanistan, and U.S. troops shipped him back to France. As a result he wound up on a U.S. 'no-fly-list.' So why was there no continuous surveillance on this guy and his brother, who both happened to belong to a Salafi group in Toulouse? French police said they were monitoring Merah and older brother Abdelkader (29) for extremist views, but they obviously didn't do a very good job. And how did he amass all those weapons found in his car: 'an Uzi, Sten pistol, revolver and pump action rifle'?

Although Abdelkader is said to have praised his brothers actions: the murder of 3 French paratroopers (several of whom were Muslim) and 4 French/Israelis (a Rabbi and 3 young children) apparently in retaliation for the French 'Burqa Ban', France's presence in Afghanistan and for the death of Palestinian children, he now denies it.  He also denies he had anything to do with the murders, but police aren't buying it.  So, in the meantime, he is being charged with complicity.

As a result, France's Sarkozy is planning to crack down on repeat visitors to extremist jihadi websites.  A little too late for Merah's 7 innocent victims, but at least it's a step in the right direction, and something every civilized country should consider.

As for suing France, good luck with that!

Other sources: TelegraphUK, The Australian,