France is 'enemy No 1' (target of jihad!)

[MaryS]

Paris - An Algerian Islamist organisation, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has issued a call for action against France, which it describes as "enemy No 1", intelligence officials said on Tuesday.

(full story:
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1807396,00.html

 

[Marklet12]

Awesome!!!...I mean, Bien!

 

[pantsman52]

Awesome!!!...I mean, Bien!

Ya, curse those evil French for not comming along on our trek to Baghdad.

 

[MadeInOz]

Awesome!!!...I mean, Bien!

how christian of you...

or should I say how american of you.

 

[Marklet12]

how christian of you...

or should I say how american of you.

Don't you mean French? "Bien" is the French word for "good"...so it would be, "How French of you."

 

[MaryS]

Ya, curse those evil French for not comming along on our trek to Baghdad.

France is proof that not all countries are being attacked because of involvement with what the mideast considers enemies.

from the article:
"The GSPC was created from a split in the Armed Islamic Group, the main force in Algeria's long insurgency, which was also responsible for a series of bombings in France in 1995."

So, the attacks in France by the group began in 1995. Gosh, and no one bothered to focus on it in the USA or even try to blame the USA government?

 

[jlujan69]

It seems odd that an Islamic extremist group would be sworn enemies with a pacifist western nation like France. What "beef" do they have with her? She opposes US policy in Iraq and sides more or less against Israel in that particular conflict.

 

[Maynard Keenan]

France used to occupy Algeria and there is still bad blood I believe.

 

[tof]

It seems odd that an Islamic extremist group would be sworn enemies with a pacifist western nation like France. What "beef" do they have with her? She opposes US policy in Iraq and sides more or less against Israel in that particular conflict.

The group quoted in the article wants to overturn the Algerian government, which is supported by the French government.
They think terrorist attacks on our soil would lead us to give up our policies towards Algeria.
The GIA tried in 1994-1995, and it failed, an regularly, GSPC members are arrested and tried for plotting terror attacks.
I don't think the GSPC is a big threat, because, as noted in the article, the GSPC split from the GIA, which was being decimated by the Algerian authorities and internal rivalries.
I think they may get funding and training from Al Qaida, but they're not in the "Global Jihad" business. They only want to seize power in Algeria, and this means fighting countries which support the current government.

Edited to add : some background about the GIA and GSPC from Wikipedia :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_Civil_War

 

[tof]

France used to occupy Algeria and there is still bad blood I believe.

I'm not sure what you mean by bad blood, but I think that present French-Algerian policies have more to do with these terror threats than past colonization policies.

 

[Marklet12]

Also, France is a very secular nation, banning crucifixes and Muslim headdress from the public sphere.

 

[girlieman]

how christian of you...

or should I say how american of you.

Oui Oui

 

[tof]

Also, France is a very secular nation, banning crucifixes and Muslim headdress from the public sphere.

Well, that we are a secular nation is not news, and apart from some British and American people, as well as Bin Laden, most people don't care that we banned conspicuous religious attire from our public schools.
There's even a muslim scholar from Egypt who stated that France had every right to enact such a law.

 

[Robby]

Appeasement works! Ask the French.

 

[MadeInOz]

Don't you mean French? "Bien" is the French word for "good"...so it would be, "How French of you."

you missah the point, I theenk...

 

[Dominus Fidelis]

It seems odd that an Islamic extremist group would be sworn enemies with a pacifist western nation like France. What "beef" do they have with her? She opposes US policy in Iraq and sides more or less against Israel in that particular conflict.

Hint: France is not Muslim. Islam is a conquering religion, always has been.

 

[Letalis]

I wish they would stop with their damned jihads. I just read an article about a Muslim man declaring Jihad against Burger King cones because they resembled 'Allah' in Arabic. Enough already.

 

[rahma]

I wish they would stop with their damned jihads. I just read an article about a Muslim man declaring Jihad against Burger King cones because they resembled 'Allah' in Arabic. Enough already.

He didn't declare jihad, he said "this is my jihad." Guess what my jihad is? A jihad against ignorance, poverty, and hunger. Shocker, I have a jihad too. Ack, she said the word jihad, run away, run away! Most muslims have a personal struggle that is near and dear to our hearts.

For many devout muslims, the name of God in arabic is sacred. We don't throw away pieces of papers that have the arabic name of God written on it. That is what the man was complaining about, because the swirl looked a lot like the arabic name of God and he is concerned that it will be thrown away, stepped on and disrespected.

It's similar to how orthodox jews view the Hebrew name of God. Heck, many will even only write G-d because of their revereance for the name of God.

 

[rahma]

Why are people in Algeria miffed at France? Watch Battle of Algiers. Perhaps as many as 1.5 million people died while Algeria fought for it's independance from France.

I suspect France remembers the war in Algeria and was not inclined to muck themselves up in Iraq for fear that it would turn out similarly. After all the Pentagon screened "Battle of Algiers" prior to the invasion of Iraq, so they must have been thinking the same thing.

 

[burrow_owl]

France is proof that not all countries are being attacked because of involvement with what the mideast considers enemies.

France is loathed because of its long and troubling history in the Middle East. Sound familiar?

It seems odd that an Islamic extremist group would be sworn enemies with a pacifist western nation like France.

France? Pacifist? Uh....not so much. In addition to its sketchy history with Muslim nations, France is an aggressively secular nation, which has drawn much anger from its Muslim residents.