Events in France:
Complex & Getting Curiouser Hasty “Common-sense” Opinion May Mislead Need a Wider and Deeper Perceptive

Published by Nizam on behalf of Ei Muhurte Kichhu Bhabna

While probing the assassination of teacher Samuel Paty we shall have to look from different vistas in space and time and will try to arrive at a wider and deeper perspective.

1- Suppose we look at certain events happened at a place centring Paris city with 100 kms radius in between October 5 and October 15. 

►On October 5, teacher Samuel Paty told his class in a Paris school that he would teach about Freedom of Speech and would show some cartoon which may hurt feelings of Muslims. So, he told Muslim students might leave the class.  ►One of the cartoons he showed allegedly had a caricature of the prophet of the Muslims in nude and in a certain pose. ►A Muslim female student felt it was pornographic and she also told that at home. ►Her father protested against it at the school and also in social media. ►An imam allegedly issued a death threat, a French-Palestinian came to school and protested.  ►On October 15 a 18 year old Chechen refugee boy Abdullakh Abuyodovich Anjorov, who lived at a place 100 miles apart from the school and who was allegedly much angry over that cartoon showed at school, came in front of the school at school closing time and asked some students to show him who was that teacher. Finding Samuel Paty, he attacked him, beheaded him and posted the photo of the cut-off head in social media. ►Police tried to catch hold of the killer boy but allegedly were attacked. Police fired and that boy died.  ► Shock and frenzy spread all over.

● Looking up to this what might be the inference? ● First, let us assume that the teacher committed a crime showing that cartoon which hurt sentiment of some students and also the killer Abdullakh. But then, how can that boy, Abdullakh, though himself the judge, arrive at what the punishment should be, and execute the punishment? Who he thinks he is! How dare he do all this and not approach a court or the society at large for justice? So Abdullakh is a criminal, a murderer and deserves punishment. ● Now let us take up what the teacher did. He showed a cartoon and warned students in advance that it could hurt sentiment. But has the teacher the ‘right’ to ridicule or to mock one, in this case a ‘prophet’ of God in a religion, one who is a venerable figure, who is respected by billion plus people in the world? ● As an example, you can site the case of a satirical piece penned by Rabindranath Tagore written 126 years ago where he ridiculed dozens of gods and goddesses who are venerated by millions of Hindu people in Bengal. It could obviously hurt religious sentiments. But did it cause ay storm in the society? Did anyone threaten him? No. everything passed peacefully as far as law and order were concerned.

●● Hence you may deduce, examining some events happened at a school at Paris city only in between October 5 and October 15 that led to murder of a teacher Samuel Paty, that the said boy Abdullakh is a murderer of the said teacher Samel Paty, where the later acted within the framework of freedom of speech and expression.

2- Now let us go back some 15-16 years – 2004-2005-2006 – place: western coast of India.

►Maqbool Fida Husain was a noted artist, the highest paid artist during his lifetime. ►His film “Minakshi: A Tale of Three Cities” was shown at the Cannes Festival in 2004. In this film he supposedly wrote lyric of a song: Noor-un-ala-noor. It caused a furore. Allegation was that he plagiarised some verses of Holy Quran into this song. Several All India Muslim organisations led the protest. So much was the hostility and that include vandalism at some theatres where the film was being shown, he was compelled to withdraw further screening of the film. ► In February 2006 he was charged for hurting religious sentiment of Hindus. He draw painting of Goddess Saraswati, nude. Exhibitions of his paintings were attacked by mob led by Hindu organisations. Protests happened in foreign countries too where his paining exhibitions were scheduled. He begged pardon. The painting was sold at about $100,000 or more. ►Getting harassed by hundreds of lawsuits he left India. For the rest of his life he stayed in Qatar and London and never came back to India in fear, though he had a wish. He died in 2011. ●● Hence we see that the concept of freedom of speech and expression that we are hearing now from the French govt was not there is India during that time.

[Here several points may logically arise. (1) We must pay attention to Aesthetics also; which works can be called pieces of art and which are vulgar incitements. We cannot equate Tagore’s piece with Husain’ and of course not at all with the Cartoon shown. (2) Well, that my be a cogent point, but not the main point. Actually the time has changed. Society has turned intolerant and no side has tolerance to sarcasm or ridicule regarding what they think their identity.]

3- Now let us zoom in France 2015.

►On Jan 7, 2015, two armed Islamic Terrorists stormed into Charlie Hebdo office and gunned down 12 staff. The reason for that act was said to be cartoons published by that journal that were ridiculous to some (but well within the Freedom of Speech and Expression) and derogatory and obscene to some. ►The same year September. A Syrian refuge child’s dead body was found in a beach. That belonged to Aylan Shenu, 3 years old. ►Many cartoons of Charlie Hebdo and like surfaced in the Internet. They are like: (1) What would Aylan be in his youth if he were alive? He would be a molester in Germany. (2) Europe is Christian. Christ could walk on water. Muslim children die drowning. (3) 2 pieces (child dead body) and the price of 1. And so on.

●One opinion – are these manifestations freedom of expression and speech? Or of hatred? ●Another opinion – even if they are NOT manifestations of art-work or decent expression, but how can it be concluded that these do not have freedom to be expressed freely? If one does not like it, he has the liberty of not seeing this. ●There is yet another opinion. These acts are neither manifestation of freedom of speech, nor they are related to freedom of art which some may dislike. All these are related to something else, which we shall see at the end.

4- Here, we shall see some events in France that happened within 10-12 days after Samuel Paty murder incident.

►More than a dozen of persons were arrested who allegedly had connection with the murder event. ►One mosque or a number of mosques were closed down. ►An organisation which worked against ‘Islamophobia’ and used to give legal and other aids to people affected by Islamophobia, CCIF, will be closed down as the government said. Simultaneously another ‘wealthy’ ‘Muslim NGO’ will be closed down. ►The cartoons which allegedly hurt sentiment of Muslims were printed as large posters and were hanged at several places in the city. ►Several gatherings were organised to pay homage to the slain teacher Samuel Paty and to protest Islamic Terrorism. ►President Macron announced that govt will fight terrorism severely.

►On October 16 two mosques at Lyon was stacked and destroyed.

►On October 18, Sunday, some women were walking their dogs in the morning as usual in a place near the Eiffel. There were some quarrel, two ‘white’ women with dogs were not happy with how two ‘coloured women with hijab’ were controlling or not-controlling their dogs. Suddenly the two ‘white’ women screamed ‘dirty Arabs’ and started attacking two ‘coloured women with hijab’ with knives. (It is not known to us whether carrying a knife is common with women in their morning walk, though.) The two ‘coloured women with hijab’ were admitted to hospital where the were treated for wound in skull and hole deep to the lung and etc. The two white women were arrested by police. However this ‘little incident’ did not make much media glare. Those two ‘coloured women with hijab’ were of Algerian-French descent. Hundreds of thousands such persons from Algeria and many other African countries are French citizen now, countries that were till the 1960s colonies of French Imperialism.

►Nowadays in many departmental stores many food packets are marked ‘Halal’ or ‘Kosher’, which means they are ‘religiously approved’ to be taken by Muslims ad Jews respectively. The big French media company BFM made an article on this issue on October 21 – whether such marking of food might be allowed in food stores for all citizens and why demand of such foods are increasing in last two decades or so. But they did such critical questions softly enough. After all many of such big food and store companies are French, like Carrefour.

►The BFM also reported another story: the famous sports company Decathlon recently launched a ‘sports hijab’. But such an uproar followed it in the social media that Decathlon withdrew the product from the market, and declined to comment on it.

5- Now we shall have to go back, in the same place that is in France, and will see some related incidents the last two decades before Samuel Party murder incident, suppose, from 2003 December to 2020 October.

►On Dec 2003 the govt of France banned use of all such dresses or ‘visible signs of religion’ on attires that might be used in schools, apparently in the spirit of ‘French secularism’ of Laïcité. So girls cannot use head-scarves or veils, boys also cannot carry ‘Cross’ or any insignia related to religion. [By the way, both Muslims and Jews in their religious gatherings and also otherwise, use two particular kinds of caps.]  

►On 2010 wearing hijab and burqa was banned in public places. Body-covered swimming suits for women, ‘burkini’, was banned too. Police search beaches and fine women who use burkinis. However, wearing body-open swimming dress for women, ‘bikini’, is legal.

►“2019 saw a shocking 789 report forms referring to 1,043 anti-Muslim incidents taking place” – according to an “Organisation for World Peace” report. ►On June 2019 there was shooting in a Brest mosque that injured the imam. ►On October 2019 a man, Claud Sinké, reported by the police to be a member of the so-called fascist party led by Mme Le Pen, torched a mosque and fired and injured two persons there – to ‘avenge’ Notre Dame fire! Naturally, this incident was also not reported as an act of Christian Terrorism.

►Mr Jean Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise and some other political and social personalities call for “A March Against Islamophobia” in Paris on Nov 10, 2019. There was trouble within the so called “left”. The Socialist Party had no signatories in the call. The founder of Nuit Debut, movement, Mr Ruffin, did not join. ►The term “islamophobia” is a much contested term, Mélenchon himself does not like that term, but joined the march. To him, anybody has the right to like or dislike religion, actually the point is rather hate campaign against one particular group and inequality.

►In 2020 also many social activists are getting death-threat from the diehard fascists of the party of Mme Le Pen. ►Prominent worker leader, himself a Railway Guard and leader of the Railway Union Mr Anasse Kazib, for example got death threat via twitter even weeks before the teacher assassination incident.     

[ ●●We understand from the above that what is France is known as Laïcité – meaning that govt will not have any relation whatsoever with ay religion – is very different from the meaning of secularism what people in India think. Applying Laïcité on dress code made things difficult. But if one cannot conform to the govt regulated dress code it will be inferred that she could not get assimilated, could not ‘integrate’ herself, and hence it is ‘secessionism’.
●●Indirectly it also means that the ‘western’ European dresses are only secular dresses, dresses of other cultures mostly are connected to some or other religions!]

6- Now we look eastward in international sphere to see what happened there afterwards.

►Turkey was having a tense relation with respect top Greece and France to say the least. France, the biggest military power in West Europe was in a bad relation with erstwhile NATO member Turkey. After the discovery of large gas-and-oil field under the sea Turkish patrolling increased to assert their right over the property. ►Turkey thought that what happened in France after the murder of the teacher is unacceptable, French govt is fuelling islamophobia, regarding which Turkey had protested also since long. So this time Turkey issued a call of Boycott French Products. ►This call found resonance in many Asian countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh etc and also in India as seen in social media. ►Simultaneously, the anti-Muslims are surreptitiously doing a social-media drive showing they are buying French products.

7- That a murder of a teacher could make such ripples and had so many indirect/direct building blocks and consequences, only show that this is not an unconnected solo event. This is only a knot in an intricate mesh of history.

►Most of French colonies were mostly Muslim inhabited. And they obtained freedom after bloody intensive wars, e.g., Algeria. In Algeria, as a modernisation drive, France took ‘unveiling’ operations several times. Algerians living in France met a severe genocide in Paris 1961 which African descendants can hardly forget. Imperialists fought in cultural sphere too and thus dress-religion-culture-identity all got  jumbled up. ►Incidentally Indians may recollect a happening in Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) only 33 years ago. The noted sitar player and musician Pandit Ananda Shankar was refused admission to a ‘High-society’ Club in Calcutta and was sent home from the gate – the reason was that he was wearing a Punjabi-pyjama and a leather-chappal and not European Dress! And that was reported in New York times (25.10.1987). Just imagine that could happen in a Left ruled state capital 40 years after India’s independence.

►Let us go to the period 1988-1992. That was the time when what was known as actually-existing-socialism was falling apart in east Europe. Berlin Wall had, by then, fallen. Fragmentation of multi-national (multi-language multi-culture) nation Yugoslavia showed a horrible war where the Muslim inhabited Bosnia Herzegovina bore the burn in maximum. ►In Afghanistan, the Soviet Army backing the coup-govt there since Soviet Invasion in Dec 1979, were already exhausted by a disparate war with ‘independence’ seeking Mujahedeen groups who were backed by the USA by massive dollar and ammunition support. ►One of these Mujahideen groups later came known as Taliban and got the crown. ►The Mujahideen victory was accomplished in 1992.

►And in 1992 we in India saw the demolition of the Babri Mosque. The BJP-RSS which rose phenomenally in 1989 elections by a grand alliance of lefts, VP Singh led Janta and BJP, started their campaign of Ram Mandir early after their win. They made a Ram-Rath that travelled all over India. ►To make it easy for them a thing was going on in background reaching all eyes in India every Sunday – A mega TV Serial Ramayana, followed by Mahabharata, which started in 1987. This mega serial in a specially created primetime was sponsored mainly by foreign multinational companies. This helped create an idea that these mythologies are actually histories of India. The BJP-RSS targeted demolition of the Babri mosque as a ‘destruction of a symbol of foreign domination’ — and BJP-RSS never thought of any symbol of British domination as a symbol of foreign domination! Anyway, in this Ramayana TV serial a new slogan was coined: “Jay Shri Ram” which is in use much in India nowadays.

►Much has changed in the world within this time slot 1988 to 1992. World map changed to a large extent. The big war game of USA vs USSR ended due to break up of Soviet in various republics. In 1992 we had a new book: “End of History”. History has stopped as capitalism would go on and on smoothly now onwards. But opposite to this vision a new war game was designed. Imperialism with is war machinery and war industry cannot survive without wars (be those proxy wars). In 1993 a prologue to another book appeared: The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of the World Order. Please see a map given in that book here. 

►New series of war started. Iraq War – 1, Afghanistan War, Iraq War – 2, Libya War and etc. ►There are other wars too, like in Yemen, Syria.

►Within a short time the so-called Uni-polar world order changed with re-emergence of Russia, rise of China and worldwide Chinese influence (particularly in Africa and South America) etc.

►New wars are also  envisioned, like Iran vs UK-USA led western-allies. China and the USA had locked horns  in trade war already in 2019-20.

►That book “Clash of Civilizations” had several quotations in it, and one is very very disturbing: “Unless we hate what we are not, we cannot love what we are”. A neo-fascist ideology coined in a short sentence! But it has invaded millions of minds without the knowledge of the victims.

It is very difficult now to understand that a serious conspiracy is going on? Is it difficult to understand that we all are inside a dangerous imperialist plot that is being continued for the last 30-32 years? On one side is western imperialism and on the other side is the imperialist created Taliban, ISIS, Mujahideen etc groups (which are not the same as the old traditional Muslim organisations during the colonial days and even the Nasserrists) who rose to prominence by active help of the CIA etc. (Alongside the decay and degeneration of the erstwhile socialist camp another process was going on which showed itself strongly in the so-called Iranian revolution of 1978-79. This showed that revolution against US imperialist backed monarchy was won eventually, not by the communists but by the Islamists under Khomeini, and the communists and other lefts were crushed.)  

Now let us ponder. In this French event, which is a little part of a great imperialist conspiracy, should we take quick decisions?

Nizam is an activist and can be reached by email: nizamuddin.78@gmail.com

[Translation of the Bengali Pamphlet published on 28-10-2020]

Frontier
Nov 7, 2020