Nov 9 - French and Muslims

I talked to Marco on the phone yesterday. He's in Colorado. He said that a lot of people are talking about the Paris riots, and a common view in the US (and probably elsewhere) is that this is an opening for Al-Qaida and other Muslim extremist groups to gain support.

Well, maybe that's true. But part of that assumption leaves me a little cold. Why? For this reason: I lived in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country for half a year with a Muslim host family and nothing but Muslims all around me. And I've traveled in several Muslim countries (Malaysia, Tunisia, Lebanon) and I've even interacted with Muslims here in France. And what do I find? That most are warm, considerate people who practice Islam in a way that is very peaceful and constructive.

So, I ask this....why does a greater role for Muslim organizations automatically mean extremism? Perhaps these organizations can bring calm and hope to people in need. I saw many organizations in Indonesia that were as beneficial for the people they served as Habitat for Humanity or Red Cross (albeit smaller and less well-funded).

A second thing I thought since yesterday was that by emphasizing the rather abominable actions of the French government, we (myself included) may inadvertently paint yet another picture of the "Nasty Frenchman". Again, like above, people come in all sorts and there are loads of decent, dedicated and warm French people. I've seen them. I know many.

What I'm getting to here that I want to show everyone this excerpt from an NPR piece on today's All Things Considered. Just take a minute to read it. It's short but it shows the human side of both young Muslim men and average French folks. It's a story that deserves to get heard, because in a small way it defies the stereotypes I've mentioned above. It's more effective to listen, so if you can, click here Officials, Citizens Seek to Control Unrest in France. If not read the text. I transcribed it myself so hopefully not too many errors.

NPR's Michele Norris is interviewing Peter Ford, the British Chief European Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. Mr. Ford was just stating the French government has made no effort at street-level diplomacy, and that unfortunately the local police response has been rather heavy handed. And he continues from there:

Peter Ford: The sort of diplomacy that happens is happening on the streets is between community associations, between local municipal authorities, between mosques, for example, and the young people involved in this.

Michele Norris: I gather you saw an example of this in Grigny, a suburb outside of Paris where you spent some time.

Peter Ford: That’s very interesting. Grigny is very typical of the sort of place where violence has hit: heavy immigration, heavy unemployment, bad policy, substandard housing….a lot of arson and a lot of violence. The municipal authorities, the mosques and the communitiy organizations got themselves together and organized networks of ordinary citizens and municipal employees to basically reclaim the street. Some people were sent to each school, each municipal building like a swimming pool…and they slept there to dissuade arsonists from trying to break in and burn the places down

Young Muslim men from the mosques spent the nights wandering the streets and if they came across people who looked like they were going to be causing trouble, they tried to talk them out of it. Nuredeen, a young man I met, was an absolute epitomy of a young French Muslim: sandles, jilaba (spelling?), jersey on top of that, woolen hat, checkered kefir (spelling?) on his head. He bumped into a guy in a hooded sweatshirt carrying a can of gasoline, and he talked him out of it. He said “you know, what is the point of burning the schools that our little brothers and sisters learn to read and write in? What is the point in burning your neighbor’s car, or the busses that we all need to go to work in?” And it worked.

And I find it frankly quite inspiring to find municipal employees guarding their schools. One of them said to me “we’re here as public servants…that’s our job to defend schools.” But to see a municipal gardener….or the dinner lady who serves lunch at the cantine in that school, sitting in this big gym of the primary school with all the lights blazing in the middle of the night defying the vandals to come and burn them down. It was really quite impressive.

Michele Norris: Peter Ford, thanks so much for talking to us.

Peter Ford: You’re welcome.

From Officials, Citizens Seek to Control Unrest in France, All Things Considered, November 8, 2005 (Click to hear the full article for yourself - it's about 4 minutes long)