Atlas Shrugs: “Allah Willing”

• Belgian Islamist Abu Imran Calls to Plant the Black Flag of Al-Qaeda over the Elysee Palace and Calls Upon Carla Bruni to Wear the Niqab

Rightly guided:

Radical Belgian Muslims Turn To Jihadist Cleric Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi For Guidance

Introduction

An individual who described himself as belonging to a group of Muslims agitating for the implementation of the shari’a in Belgium wrote to the senior salafi jihadi sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi with a request for guidance. Al-Maqdisi, who lives in Jordan, is best known as the mentor of Abu Mus’ab Al-Zarqawi; more recently he has provided guidance to the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus,[1]salafi jihadis in Nigeria,[2] and probably to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb as well.[3] In his reply, Al-Maqdisi told the Belgian Muslims to support the active jihads by providing funding, men, or however else they could, but counseled against carrying out attacks in Belgium as long as they are incapable of mounting a sustained conflict.

Belgian Muslim Abu Imran on April 9 Demonstration in Paris:

“We are coming to say: Oh Sarkozy, enemy of Allah, dog of the Romans, son of the unbeliever, of Allah, dog of the Romans, son of the unbeliever, we are on our way [...] We are coming, with our nuclear bombs of ‘Allah Akbar.’

We are coming, with our black flags – the black flags of ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’

“We are coming to take back what belongs to us, to regain our land and purify it of unbelief and of the unbelievers. We are coming with ‘There is no god but Allah.’ We are coming because we reject democracy. We do not accept democracy. We accept nothing but the tawhid of Allah. We accept nothing but: ‘There is no god but Allah.’ We accept nothing but the shari’a of Allah. “Just as we ruled many European lands, we are coming [...] By God, we are on our way. The day you will see the black flag flying over the Élysée us very near [...] I say to all my brothers and sisters in France: We are coming from Belgium to support you, with our group, Sharia4Belgium. We are coming to support you [...] May Allah accept their actions, and grant them a place in Paradise for their sacrifices and their activities, which aim to bring victory to this community [...] May Allah facilitate our path, and purify France of unbelief and the unbelievers. Allah willing, we will see you next week. Salaam Alyakum, and Allah’s blessings upon you.” […]

	April 10, 2011 No.3753
	Belgian Islamist Abu Imran on April 9 Demonstration in Paris: Plant the Black Flag of ‘There is No God but Allah…’ Over the Elysee Palace; Carla Bruni Should Divorce Sarkozy and Wear the Niqab
	Following are excerpts from a statement delivered by Sheik Abu Imran of the Sharia4Belgium group. The statement refers to an April 9 demonstration in Paris against the banning of the burqa. Jamaat Tawhid, the radical Islamist group that held the protest, and which calls for the implementation of shari’a law in France, invited prominent radical Islamist groups and figures from other European countries to attend the event. The statement was posted on the Internet on April 3, 2011.  To view this clip on the MEMRI TV website, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2887.htm. “We Call Upon Carla Bruni to Become a Muslim, to Repent, to Join Our Islamic Community, and to Wear the Niqab” Sheik Abu Imran: “Allah’s blessings upon you, my dear brothers and sisters in France. We respond to your call, Jama’at Al-Tawhit ['Group of Monotheism']. “My dear brothers, you sent us an invitation to participate in the April 9 demonstration in Paris. We will be honored to come, and partake with you in the victory of our Islamic nation, with the grace of God. “The demonstration was originally organized to [protest] the banning of the niqab. My dear brothers, I would like to tell you that we are coming with the goal of defending the niqab, and the honor of our sisters, as well as with another goal. “We are coming to perform a da’wa. Our da’wa is directed toward Carla Bruni. We call upon Carla Bruni to become a Muslim, to repent, to join our Islamic community, and to wear the niqab. I ask Allah to guide Carla Bruni, to turn her into a niqab-wearing Muslim, and to make her divorce that unbeliever, Sarkozy, may Allah fight him. I pray to Allah for the family of that false idol Sarkozy to become Muslim, and to wear the niqab – so that this unbeliever Sarkozy will see the niqab in his very home, and in his very own family, Allah willing.” “Oh Sarkozy, Enemy of Allah, Dog of the Romans, Son of the Unbeliever, We are On Our Way… We are Coming, with Our Nuclear Bombs of ‘Allah Akbar’” “We are coming to say: Oh Sarkozy, enemy of Allah, dog of the Romans, son of the unbeliever, we are on our way. We are on our way with ‘Allah Akbar,’ ‘Allah Akbar.’ We are coming, with our nuclear bombs of ‘Allah Akbar.’ We are coming, with our black flags – the black flags of ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ “We are coming to take back what belongs to us, to regain our land and purify it of unbelief and of the unbelievers. We are coming with ‘There is no god but Allah.’ We are coming because we reject democracy. We do not accept democracy. We accept nothing but the tawhid of Allah. We accept nothing but: ‘There is no god but Allah.’ We accept nothing but the shari’a of Allah. “Just as we ruled many European lands, we are coming to make you think about [the Battle of] Poitiers, to make you think about Andalusia, and to make you think about… By God, we are on our way. The day you will see the black flag flying over the Élysée us very near. I ask Allah to give us the power to plant the black flag over the Élysée. I say to all my brothers and sisters in France: We are coming from Belgium to support you, with our group, Sharia4Belgium. We are coming to support you. “I ask all my brothers and sisters in France to come to the Place de la Nation in Paris. We will be there, with our brothers from Jama’at Al-Tawhid. May Allah accept their actions, and grant them a place in Paradise for their sacrifices and their activities, which aim to bring victory to this community. May Allah reward them with Paradise. Allah willing, we will meet next week in Paris. May Allah facilitate our path, and purify France of unbelief and the unbelievers. Allah willing, we will see you next week. Salaam Alyakum, and Allah’s blessings upon you.” […]

The Battle for France

The Battle for France by Stephen Brown What a difference a riot can make. The three nights of armed mayhem in a Muslim quarter of Grenoble in July that saw numerous cars burned, police officers fired upon and their families threatened has ignited an unexpected and energetic response from France’s politicians. In what may be the last chance to halt France’s slide into anarchy as well as an indication of how endangered the French social order is, the country’s center-right ruling party, the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement (UMP)), is set to introduce two constitutional amendmentsinto the National Assembly next month to deal with the country’s deterioratingsocial situation. Both concern cancelling French citizenship for convicted criminals. France’s immigration minister, Eric Besson, the person responsible for drafting the amendments, said revoking French citizenship is not anti-constitutional and therefore will receive clearance from France’s constitutional council. The forfeiture of French nationality, Besson says, currently exists in France, but only for convictions for serious offences like terrorism and espionage. Before 1998, however, it was allowed under common law “for a certain number of crimes.” “It is relatively simple,” said Besson. “It suffices to return to the law that prevailed until 1998. That is not anti-constitutional.” Frontpagemag

Qaeda’s north Africa wing calls Sarkozy ‘enemy of Allah,’ wants revenge against France

DUBAI (AFP) – Al-Qaeda’s north Africa branch called for revenge against France and labelled its President Nicolas Sarkozy an “enemy of Allah” over a deadly raid last month, in an online message seen by AFP on Monday. On August 2, jailed AQIM leader El Khadim Ould Semane also threatened France and Mauritania with retaliation. “I say to the infidels and French Crusaders… (we) will not rest until French blood has been spilled,” Semane had said. (Yahoo News)

French Convert Obsessed With Islam

Abdul Hakim Muhammad, the man who killed one soldier and wounded another at a Army recruiting center in Little Rock last year, attempted to firebomb the rabbi of a synagogue in Nashville before he paid his murderous visit to Little Rock. This news has been publicly revealed for the first time, based on revelations in a psychiatric evaluation of Mr. Muhammad.

• Muslim Convert Carlos Bledsoe aka AbdulHakim Muhammad:  Law enforcement officials say Muhammad was arrested and jailed in Yemen at one point for using a Somali passport

Meanwhile, France tries to deal with what in some suburbs seems almost an ethnic or religious war, brought on by lax immigration policies:

President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday he wanted to strip French nationality from anyone of foreign origin who threatened the life of a police officer, in a crackdown after riots shook two French towns this month.

Flagging an invasion/ Andrew Bolt

Trying to put the fire out with gasoline

Colin Randall, The National

The Weekly Prayer Demo’s paralyze whole streets in Paris….

PARIS // France’s most prominent Muslim leader has called for the number of mosques in the country to be doubled to 4,000, sparking fresh debate on the secular status established in French law a century ago.

Sarkozy with ‘moderate’ Islamofascists….

Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grande Mosque of Paris and formerly president of the French Council for Muslims, believes a sharp increase in facilities for worship is necessary to give Europe’s largest Muslim population a chance to pray in dignity and comfort.

In a revealing interview in the daily newspaper France-Soir, the contents of which were confirmed by his office, the Algerian-born cardiologist stressed the social benefits of easing the “pressure, frustration and the sense of injustice” felt by many French Muslims.

France under Islam: images thanks to Barenaked

“Open a mosque and you close a prison,” said Dr Boubakeur. If this seems a colourful way of justifying a major programme of mosque-building, he can point to a powerful ally: the president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Wherever there are mosques  the prisons are full with Mohammedans. But hey, connecting the dots makes you a ‘bigot racist Islamophobe’…..

France jealously guards the principle of separation of religion and state set down in the 1905 law. This legislation, the bedrock of French secular society, expressly forbids the official recognition or state funding any faith.

But in 2004, when he was the finance minister, Mr Sarkozy argued in a book entitled The Republic, Religions, Hope for an updating of the law to meet modern challenges.

• Sarkozy also believes that Arabic is the language of the future and that citizens have no right to defend themselves….
• Since becoming president, Mr Sarkozy has maintained his theme that “negative” secularism should make way for a positive brand. In 2008, while visiting Riyadh, he hailed Islam as “one of the greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has known.”

He said the provision of a mosque in every sizeable town would help counter the extremism fostered by self-styled, usually untrained imams holding prayer meetings in tower block basements and garages.

France is estimated to have at least five million Muslims among a population of 63 million, and Islam is the most commonly practised faith after Roman Catholicism.

Since becoming president, Mr Sarkozy has maintained his theme that “negative” secularism should make way for a positive brand. In 2008, while visiting Riyadh, he hailed Islam as “one of the greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has known”.

For French groups such as Riposte Laïque (Secular Response), which fiercely defends the church-state separation, Mr Sarkozy has defeated the spirit of the 1905 law by allowing it to be circumvented.

There are now various ways, from tax advantages to the leasing of land or property at peppercorn rents, in which the public purse can contribute to the cost of building mosques.

Riposte Laïque claims loopholes in the law mean a new mosque for Barbès-Rochechouart, a Muslim quarter on the fringe of central Paris, will receive subsidies of up to €20 million (Dh90m) from taxpayers.

This is because authorities have the freedom to give direct aid to Muslim groups if the new buildings are designated, as in Barbès-Rochechouart, as cultural centres or Islamic institutes, which qualify for funding even if they also contain prayer rooms.

This week, opponents of any dilution of secular law were dismayed when François Fillon became the first French prime minister of the Fifth Republic, created in 1958, to officiate at the inauguration of a new mosque – a building for up to 2,500 worshippers at Argenteuil, on the outskirts of Paris.

Secular and anti-Islam lobby groups strongly criticised his presence. Writers at more than one website, including that of Riposte Laïque, expressed “shame” that Mr Fillon was photographed cutting the tape while standing alongside a small girl wearing a veil.

However, the child’s face was not fully covered and would therefore be entirely legal under France’s intended ban on the head-to-toe burqa, a form of dress described by Mr Fillonas a “caricature of Islam” to which he remained implacably opposed.

In his France-Soir interview, Dr Boubakeur said secular principles represented a “safeguard against abuse” but should not prevent a fair response to Islam’s need to express itself.

He pointed out that the law had not prevented the Grand Mosque of Paris being built in 1922 with substantial financial state aid given with parliament’s blessing. The gesture was made in recognition of North African Muslims who fought and died for France in the First World War.

In one glaring contradiction of opposition to public funds being used towards the building of mosques, such criticism is often accompanied by anger at the closure of city streets – in areas lacking proper facilities for worship – for Friday prayers.

Nabila Ramdani, a French writer and academic of Algerian background, believes it would be hypocritical to deny funding for mosques.

“Other faiths, including Christians and Jews, all infringe the 1905 law, as they receive funding from the state,” she said. “So there’s no reason whatsoever why Muslims shouldn’t enjoy the same kind of funding, even if the money is passed off as cultural money. They should have the same opportunities as other faiths.”

Dr Boubakeur said it was “not normal for our faithful to have to pray in the streets or in the gutter”.

He acknowledged the unease caused in some areas when plans for new mosques included minarets. But while a minaret in the French countryside may “stick out like the nose on a face”, he had heard nothing but praise for the minaret of the Grand Mosque of Paris.

“The French are no more racist and no less welcoming than any others,” he said.

“There are no people in Europe more welcoming of Muslims. But because of extremists, people have a poor perception of these buildings.”

Nicolas Sarkozy ally ‘received death threats’ over Muslim veil ban

• French burka ban lifts veil of division/The Australian
• Muslim girl’s headscarf divides Spain

A French conservative politician at the forefront of a campaign for a full ban on Islamic veils has been placed under police protection after reportedly receiving death threats.

Jean-François Copé, who leads the parliamentary group of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party, has had a security officer accompanying him since January, it emerged on Friday.

Mr Copé submitted a proposed bill on banning the veil in public in January, on grounds of security and women’s equality. On Wednesday, the government announced its intention to push through a full ban as early as this summer.   Telegraph UK

Related Links:

• Al-Qaeda threatens France with revenge over burka stance/Sure, OBL has long demanded that the infidels submit to Islam and that their women cover up like in Sordid Barbaria….
• Muslim leaders condemn Sarkozy over burqa ban/ opposing Islam causes wars and infidels are responsible for them….
• Nicolas Sarkozy says the burqa is ‘not welcome’ in France/bad dhimmi!

The boy who threatened South Park is a convert to and Misunderstander of Islam

Fox provides an illuminating profile of the young convert to and Misunderstander of Islam, demonstrating yet again the jihadists’ consistent tendency to portray themselves as the exponents of authentic, pure Islam — and featuring Hamas-linked CAIR’s Honest Ibe Hooper pretending that he never heard a jihadi speak before. “Road to Radicalism: The Man Behind the ‘South Park’ Threats,” by Joshua Rhett Miller forFOXNews.com, April 23 (thanks to JW):

There cannot be liberty, equality, or fraternity in a society where a segment of the population will not or cannot show its face to the rest. An update on this story. “Sarkozy to submit bill banning Islamic face veils,” by Sylvie Corbet for the Associated Press/Jihad Watch

That’s funny, just around the same time an Islamic headbanger in Sowdi Barbaria calls for the cyclops burqa:

Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil

BBC

A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has called on women to wear a full veil, or niqab, that reveals only one eye.

Hmm, just wondering: perhaps he listened to sheik yer’mami’s song ‘Muslim Woman’ and heard the part about ‘sexy eyes’, which got him all hot and bothered……

J’Post

French leader: We must act on Iran to avoid “disaster” of IAF strike.

Translation: somebody should do something because we, the French, won’t…..

• At nuclear summit, Obama snubs an ally, says the summit made the world safer
• Iran: We’ll Be in ‘Nuclear Club’ Next Month

If the world doesn’t act to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear arms, it could be responsible for a war between Israel and the Islamic Republic, French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Monday night, as the Nuclear Security Summit opened in Washington.

“I would not want the world to wake up to a conflict between Israel and Iran quite simply because the international community has been incapable of acting,” the French president told CBS News.

An IAF strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be disastrous, he warned.

“It would be a disaster. I don’t even want to think about that possibility,” Sarkozy said. “And the best way to avoid this disaster scenario is to take measures in order to get Israel to understand that we are determined to ensure its security.”

Then comes the qualifiers:

“And Israel, furthermore, must equally make the necessary effort in order to bring about a fair and lasting peace with their Palestinian neighbors.”

Right. Israel must make that effort.

Hamas, & Fatah, & Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Liberation Organization and all the other Pali terrorist organizations can’t be expected to make that effort. Why not?

Britain’s Miliband defends Turkey’s accession to EU

Britain’s top diplomat defended Turkey’s accession to the European Union as an important requirement for peace and stability. World Bulletin/Turkey

Sarkozy tells Erdogan to get stuffed:

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Sarkozy in Paris despite EU divide

I wonder if they discussed this: French hostages beg for France to save them from execution (it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Erdogan was offering his “help  in negotiating” their release……

You can almost feel the tension in the air with this hand shake. Sarkozy stands firm on “privileged partnership” and Erdogan tries to appeal to him to do otherwise. Alas they agree to disagree!

Earlier this week, [Erdogan] expressed support for his “dear friend”, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Islamization Watch

REUTERS – France reiterated its opposition to European Union membership for Turkey during a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, and a minister said the two countries had agreed to disagree. More

Leading Islamic organization in Germany works to undermine democracy [Video]

More British Crack-pottery: “Kotel not in Israel“

Not wanting to feel left out, the AFP attacks Israel for the unhelpful planned construction of a synagogue in a settlement…actually the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem.
I’m sure Gush-Shalom is drooling over all these attacks on Israel. Its probably one of their activists that complained to the British ASA in the first place.

Update:

Turkey calls on EU “not to act as Greek Cyprus spokesperson” Turkey expressed disappointment over an EU report on Turkey’s progress in 2009 during its accession process.

The increasingly islamicized Muslim country of Turkey appears to have dreams of another Ottoman empire.

The Ascent of Evil: Receding American Hegemony/Atlas Shrugs

Hurriet/Turkish Daily

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized French President Nicolas Sarkozy over his opposition to Turkey joining the European Union in an interview to mark the launch of the Euronews television channel’s new Turkish language service.

• Karzai calls for stop to foreign military raids in Afghan villages
• Germany’s Turk groups condemn EU embargo on N.Cyprus
• Eight Turkish planes violate Greek airspace and are chased off by Greek fighters

In his first interview with the European TV channel Euronews on Saturday, Erdoğan spoke about a range of topics, from Turkey’s negotiations aimed at eventual full membership in the European Union to Cyprus, relations with Israel, and questions on Kurds and Armenia.

The Turkish prime minister said some of the EU member states were not acting honestly during Turkey’s ongoing negotiation with the bloc. “This is where a problem arises. Why am I saying this? Because they are trying to corner Turkey with conditions that do not exist in the acquis communautaire [the total accumulated body of EU law]. This is really wrong,” he said.

Pointing to Sarkozy’s stance regarding Turkey’s EU bid, Erdoğan said: “One cannot easily comprehend what Mr. Sarkozy does. But no matter what they do, or what kind of obstacles they put in front of us, we will keep walking, patiently.”

He said his country would continue negotiations until all the EU members say they do not want Turkey. EU membership has been “a dream for our country for half a century,” he added. Erdoğan said the EU should not become a “Christian club,” adding that, “The EU should not take part in a campaign of Islamophobia. Any country doing this must be warned.”

EU’s ‘historical’ Cyprus mistake

Answering questions on the longstanding dispute over Cyprus, Erdoğan said the European Union had not been honest about the issue until now. “The EU bears a great deal of responsibility for the current deadlock over Cyprus. They made a historical error in accepting the south of Cyprus into the EU,” he said.

In response to whether he expected to see Cyprus reunited in the near future, Erdoğan said the Greek Cypriot party always avoided a direct approach and thus should be warned by the EU. “We are striving to resolve the issue this year. And we want it to be resolved under the umbrella of the United Nations,” he said.

Replying to a question about the government’s initiatives regarding the Kurdish population, Erdoğan said: “This has been one of the most important items on the agenda in recent days. But calling it a Kurdish issue will undermine, weaken this project. This project is one of national unity and friendship.”

Erdoğan said it would be disrespectful to other groups in Turkey if such a matter was considered exclusively a “Kurdish issue.”

“This plan, this project, covers all of them,” he said.

Losing an ally

Speaking about future relations between Turkey and Israel, Erdoğan said Israel should give some thought to what it would be like to lose a friend like Turkey in the future. “The way they recently treated our ambassador has no place in international politics. We have done our best for Israel-Syria relations. But now we see [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu saying, ‘I do not trust Erdoğan, but I trust Sarkozy.’”

Erdoğan also said if Israel believed it was a world power, it should take another look at the relationship it has with its neighbors.

He also commented on the Israeli foreign ministry’s recent accusation of being the cause of the rising tension between Turkey and Israel by saying: “I am telling the truth, and I will keep telling the truth. When innocent civilians are ruthlessly killed, struck by phosphorus bombs, infrastructure is demolished in bombings and people are forced to live in an open-air prison… we cannot see this as compatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

‘Turkey fulfills protocol commitments’

Replying to a final question on the Armenian Constitutional Court’s interpretation of the recent Turkish-Armenian protocols, Erdoğan said: “We appear to have gotten off to an unhealthy start. What are we negotiating about? What are we going to do? Armenia should once again take this into consideration because we fulfilled our protocol commitments.” Erdoğan also said both sides had road maps, and the process would continue.

Turkish officials said Sunday that Euronews would open a significant door to Turkey. At a ceremony Sunday held by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, ITO, Turkey’s State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said Turkey had much to gain from Euronews as a window to Turkey.

“Turkey’s full EU membership bid will get stronger with the contributions of Euronews,” Arınç said.

Speaking at Saturday’s launch ceremony, Pier Luigi Malesani, an executive of the Euronews, said Turkey would become closer to Europe with Euronews broadcastings. “A European Union that does not include Turkey would not be complete – it would be missing something,” he said.

Lyon-based Euronews TV channel already broadcasts in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian for 24 hours a day. Turkish is the ninth language for Euronews. A Turkish language news channel will go on air throughout the world through 34 satellites.

Under an agreement signed in 2008, TRT became the fourth biggest partner in Euronews with a 15.7 percent stake.

Euronews has 21 shareholders including leading national TV channels from European countries. France has 25 percent, Italy 21 percent, Russia 19 percent and Switzerland 9 percent shares in the news channel.

Founded in 1992 in Lyon as a European Broadcasting Union initiative, Euronews beams into 293 million households in 150 countries by cable, satellite and terrestrial 24 hours a day with more than 400 staff from different nationalities.

In terms of audience, Euronews is the most watched news channel in Europe.

By Stefan Simons/SPIEGEL

For months the French have been embroiled in a public debate centered on their national identity and a possible ban on the burqa. Immigration Minister Éric Besson, a former Socialist, is the man behind the aggressive debate, making him one of France’s most controversial politicians.

Temperatures were below freezing and the winter sky was a frosty gray when French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette military cemetery in northern France last Tuesday. He had come to pay his last respects to another Frenchman, a man named Harouna Diop, a soldier and father of six children. Born in Senegal, Diop was only 40 years old when he died in Afghanistan on Jan. 13, when insurgents blew up his armored military vehicle.

Related articles:

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• Opinion: Swiss Minaret Ban Reflects Fear of Islam, Not Real Problems
• ‘Not Islamic’: Danish Conservatives Call for Burqa Ban
• SPIEGEL 360: Our Coverage of Muslims in Europe

“Harouna Diop was a Frenchman. Harouna Diop was a Muslim,” Sarkozy said, facing a field of white crosses. “He died for France.”Sarkozy’s eulogy was a rescue attempt, a rhetorical maneuver at the height of a heated debate being conducted in France over national identity. It has divided the country for months, has led to racist gaffes and has contributed to an atmosphere of heightened suspicion against French Muslims.

The debate revolves around the values of the republic, the French nation, the burqa and the question of what this country is proud of and what is important to it — in short, many of the things that unite, or once united, the French.

The man who triggered this debate is standing next to Sarkozy at the military cemetery: Éric Besson, 51, minister for immigration, integration and national identity. The Nouvel Observateur calls him a “shameless servant of his master,” while the weekly magazine Marianne concludes that he is “the most hated man in France.” As for the president, he calls Besson “my blade.”

Besson is a suave politician. He wears lilac-colored shirts with purple ties, has a habit of pressing the fingertips of both of his hands together while speaking and likes to pose for photographs in his office, between gilded stucco and an antique globe. Besson, who calls himself a patriot, has just written a book, “For the Nation,” a literary hymn to his native France, which he says he has “loved and idolized” since his adolescent days. The immigration minister was born in Marrakech, Morocco and only came to France he was 17.

Three months ago, the minister announced the beginning of a constructive debate in the “motherland of human rights.” He was convinced that ownership of the concept of the nation had been left to right-wing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen and his Front National (FN) for far too long. There was nothing wrong with launching into this debate, which is currently raging in many European countries, partly as a reaction to the growing number of Muslims living in Europe.

The discussion centers on their rights and obligations, and on their acceptance of Western values. A burqa ban is not just being debated in France, but also in Denmark and Italy, and in December the Swiss voted in a referendum against the construction of minarets.

‘Fear of Arab Domination’

But it is difficult to conduct this discussion in an objective way, particularly as it has formed part of an attempt to exclude Muslims in many places. Citizens, politicians and journalists have become embroiled in aggressive and, in some cases, racist discussions over how visible Islam can be allowed to become in the day-to-day life of the republic, and how French the five to six million Muslims living in France are or should be.

On the Web site Besson had set up for the debate over national identity, censors soon found themselves having to delete many xenophobic messages. And at the citizens’ forums that the Immigration Ministry organized throughout the country, many citizens expressed what they called their “fear of Arab domination.”

At one such forum, the mayor of Marseilles said that he was pleased with the Muslim residents of the city, but not about the fact that they recently walked through the streets carrying the Algerian and not the French flag after a local club had won a football match. Besson later apologized for the mayor’s “faux pas.”

For months, the Socialist opposition has accused Besson of using the national identity debate to deliberately gloss over the country’s real problems: the budget deficit, the mountain of debt, unemployment and the unredeemed promises of Sarkozy, who came into office as the “purchasing power president.” According to the opposition, the only purpose of Besson’s campaign is to keep these pressing problems off the political agenda before regional elections in March.

Falling Out with the Socialists

These critics are all too familiar with the minister. After all, Besson was once a member of the Parti Socialiste (PS) himself and, as recently as the 2007 presidential campaign, worked as an advisor to the party’s candidate Ségolène Royal, writing pamphlets about Sarkozy, in which he derided him as an “American neoconservative with a French passport.”

But then he had a falling-out with Royal, turned his back on the party, penned a sharp critique of the Socialists and, before the runoff election, defected and offered his services to Royal’s opponent, Sarkozy. He is said to have helped Sarkozy prepare for the major television debate between the two candidates, even playing the part of Royal in role-playing exercises. The Socialists have branded Besson a traitor ever since.

As the president’s protégé, Besson is constantly making headlines. He is everywhere. Following in the footsteps of Sarkozy who, as interior minister, closed the Sangatte refugee camp on the northern coast in 2002, the current immigration minister had a refugee camp near Calais forcefully cleared last September, in full view of live TV cameras and with the help of aggressive security forces.

Like Sarkozy, Besson is loud and provocative. He rages against the sham marriages with which immigrants acquire French citizenship, he pursues illegal immigrants and he is reporting record numbers of deportations. He was also Sarkozy’s ideal pick to run the national identity campaign. A former leftist from North Africa, Besson has even been in a relationship with a 23-year-old Tunisian woman for the past few months. He couldn’t be more perfectly cast for the role.

At appearances in Paris, Besson says that he wants to promote “the pride of being French.” He is even considering tying the granting of citizenship to a “pact with the republic.” More than 350 citizens’ forums have been held, and the Web site has already attracted more than 55,000 comments. Besson recently called the effort “an immensely popular success” — to applause from the almost exclusively white audience at an event where he was speaking.

Banning the Burqa

Besson’s identity debate has merged with another controversy: the question of whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear the full veil or niqab (commonly referred to as the burqa) in public. Opponents argue that it contradicts the values of the republic and that the burqa doesn’t belong in secular France, which already enacted a law banning Islamic headscarves in schools in 2004.

Last Tuesday, while Sarkozy and Besson were paying their respects to the Muslim soldier, a French parliamentary commission on the wearing of the full veil recommended that it be banned in all public facilities. The recommendation called for barring women wearing the burqa or the niqab access to government offices, hospitals, social service offices, schools and public transportation. It is now up to the parliament to turn the recommendation into law.

On the surface, the commission’s task was to determine whether the burqa is compatible with the dignity of women. But the real issue goes to the more fundamental question of how much Islam secular France can tolerate. “I think that we have to ban the burqa,” says Besson, “in the interest of women.” Sarkozy demanded the same thing in June 2009, when he said: “The burqa is not welcome in the territory of the French republic.” His wife Carla sat next to him and nodded. The commission interviewed more than 150 experts, it discussed whether wearing the burqa is a religious requirement, and it even considered the argument that a ban could improve safety on the roads. But that would have meant including motorcycle couriers and members of other professions in a ban on the wearing of “head coverings that limit the field of vision.”

André Gerin, the chairman of the commission and the Communist mayor of the Lyon suburb of Vénissieux for 24 years, said that although Muslims clearly have a right to live in France, they “will have to assimilate to our society.” This puts Communist Gerin on the same page as former Socialist Eric Besson. Both men are nostalgic for a France that no longer exists, and many Frenchmen apparently share their nostalgia. It is like an everyday melody, writes Le Monde, “that suggests to the public that France is no longer the way it used to be, since immigrants, particularly Muslims with their families, have settled here.”

Mobilizing the Far Right?

Vincent Geisser, a sociologist, says that “the burqa debate, together with the discussion of national identity, contributes to radicalizing the positions of practicing, moderate Muslims.” According to Geisser, a legal ban on the burqa could make Muslim women even greater victims than they are today.

It seems that Besson has lost control over the debate, and now even the conservatives fear that the propaganda campaign may be damaging. His promotion to the post of deputy leader of the ruling conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) has also ruffled some feathers. The party’s strategists wonder whether borrowing the slogans of the far right will not just serve to mobilize supporters of the Front National during the regional elections.

Sarkozy had already altered his tone at the beginning of the year, when, adopting a statesmanlike tone, he called for national unity and asked his fellow Frenchmen “to debate without tearing us apart, without insulting us and without dividing us.” The president is expected to put an end, for the time being, to the debate over the national identity next Thursday. The controversy over the burqa ban has also been postponed until after the elections. For now, the Constitutional Council will examine whether a ban is even constitutionally acceptable. But the question remains whether it will be possible to end the discussion as quickly as it began, and whether relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in France have suffered permanent damage.

“Our country cannot allow us to stigmatize French citizens of the Muslim faith,” Sarkozy said at the grave of Harouna Diop. “Today, Islam is the religion of many Frenchmen.” Éric Besson, the man behind the national identity campaign, is reported to have nodded slightly in response to the president’s comments.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan