Why Obama invoked the Crusades — and what it says about how he views terrorism – and Related Commentary

2015/02/09 Leave a comment

Carefully thought out strategy:

Obama, though, is not budging. And his comments on the Crusades and the Inquisition represent the latest ratcheting up in his quest to change how people talk about terrorism. He views Islamist terrorists as exploiting their religion; his opponents believe there is something about Islam that creates fanatics who are willing to carry out terrorist attacks.

For what it’s worth, Americans used to sympathize more with Obama. But the rise of the Islamic State appears to be pushing things in the opposite direction. A Pew poll in September showed, for the first time, that 50 percent of Americans viewed Islam as more likely to encourage violence than other religions. Another 39 percent said it was not more likely to encourage violence.

This could be part of the reason Obama is upping the rhetoric. Words matter, and the way this issue is framed is going to go a long way toward determining how the “war on terror” will be waged. Moreover, the rise of the Islamic State — along with the lesser-publicized Boko Haram — has ramped up the debate over terrorism and its roots to the highest point since perhaps after Sept. 11, 2001. This is a key moment in defining the terms of the debate. Both Republicans and Obama recognize that.

Obama’s critics believe he’s being Pollyannaish about the nature of the threat and how it is inherently tied to Islam. Without recognizing the seeds of terrorism, they reason, how can you combat it?

Obama disagrees wholeheartedly with that characterization and thinks attributing violence to Islam is unfair and damaging to relations between Christians and the broader Muslim population.

It’s perhaps the defining semantics debate of his presidency.

Why Obama invoked the Crusades — and what it says about how he views terrorism – The Washington Post.

Commentary from Richard LeBaron, a former U.S. ambassador (ret.) and the founding coordinator of the U.S. Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications Strategy:

The United States and its allies are in a conflict with certain groups that would like to convince the world that they are the true representatives of Islam.

We will succeed in that war only if we stay focused on the key element of counterterrorism strategy: excellent intelligence gained through maintenance of a first-rate intelligence community and sharing of intelligence with others; the ability to project deadly force when needed against specific groups and targets who wish us harm; and enlistment of Muslim and non-Muslim countries and communities around the world to do their fair share in combating terrorism and addressing its root causes—be those poor governance, weak states, religious incitement, or psychologically marginalized individuals looking for outlets for their rage.

Preventing the attraction to terrorism, as opposed to attacking known terrorists, is a long-term project that requires a serious approach. The contrived debate about labeling terrorism is both counterproductive and at odds with an American value system that separates religious belief from political considerations.

Those actually doing the fighting against terrorists deserve better than bumper sticker slogans to guide their actions. They should not be asked to fight a dimly understood religious war.

Declaring War on Radical Islam Is Not a Counterterrorism Strategy

The Globe Editorial on the Canadian government response is along similar lines:

Canada’s small number of terrorists thus far have been mostly self-radicalized. Think of the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu murderer Martin Couture-Rouleau or parliamentary shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. Both were deeply troubled men who at some point grabbed onto ideas floating about on the Internet, and decided that the purifying appeal of violence was the answer for what ailed them. They weren’t sent here by ISIS; it would be more accurate to say that they caught a virus, albeit one that the intellectual immune system of the overwhelming majority of Canadians of all faiths is thus far resistant to.

They were also self-Islamicized. Their made-up religion of endless war had little to do with the Islam encountered in Canada’s mainstream mosques. Otherwise, this country might be overrun with Couture-Rouleaus and Zehaf-Bibeaus. It is not.

On the day of the Parliament Hill shooting, this newspaper editorialized “against exaggeration, hysteria and despair” and “in favour of calming the hell down.”

Over the past few weeks, the Prime Minister has seemed intent on riling people up and making the most of the terrorist threat. He has exaggerated the danger of ISIS and its connection to possible terrorism in Canada. That’s wrong. At a time like this, the PM should be the chief minister in charge of deflating hyperbole, putting things in perspective – and reminding Canadians that we must continue as we always have, on guard but free.

 A ‘war on terrorism’? No thanks. There are smarter ways to meet the threat 

Lastly, shallow commentary by Rex Murphy:

There have been many sins committed by many faiths, and there are tragedies even now underway. But it is a very displaced analysis that seeks to offer corrections to Christianity during a period of Islamic turmoil, and seeks out forgotten sins to ignore those so very close to mind.

He forgets history provides context and cautions us not to jump on bandwagons and the meme of the day.

Rex Murphy: In Obama’s impulse to absolve Islam, he offers a rebuke to Christianity

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Graeme Hamilton: Banning centre run by controversial Montreal Imam problematic in a democratic society

2015/02/09 Leave a comment

Valid:

Aurélie Campana, a political science professor at Université Laval and holder of the Canada Research Chair on Conflicts and Terrorism, said countries around the world are seeking the proper balance between respecting freedoms and thwarting radicalization.

“We are all walking a tightrope, whether in Quebec in Canada or in other countries confronted by these problems,” she said. “I don’t think anyone has found a miracle solution yet.”

But turning the danger of radicalism into an emotional political issue is a recipe for increased social tensions, she said.

“In Canada, through multiculturalism, there is a relative social peace that is not found in other countries — in France, for example,” she said. “The risk is that this law indirectly calls into question the existing social balance, and that the Muslim community is stigmatized.”

Mr. Bouazzi said he hears regularly of young Montrealers leaving to join ISIS but argues that, in the short-term, the best counterweight is to appeal to Muslim families. “They do co-operate,” he said, citing the recent example of a father who called in police after his son robbed a variety store to finance a trip to join the jihad.

He said a tough law that restricts freedoms is counterproductive. “We are really in front of a dilemma: Because we want to fight terrorism that does not agree with democracy, we’re actually destroying our democracy,” he said. “It’s very important to stay strong in these situations, because we don’t want them to win.”

Graeme Hamilton: Banning centre run by controversial Montreal Imam problematic in a democratic society

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The perils of counterterror overreach – Yakabuski

2015/02/03 Leave a comment

Valid points by Konrad Yakabuski:

Since the attacks, there have been more than 200 similar outbursts among students, mostly Muslim teenagers protesting during a new mandatory moment of silence in public schools in memory of the January terror victims. The French government’s response to this backlash from minority students is a 250-million-euro plan to enhance the teaching of “the values of the Republic” in public schools.

The measures also include designating Dec. 9 as a new official “Day of Secularism” in honour of the 1905 law enshrining the separation of church and state. The same law guarantees freedom of religion, but that aspect gets short shrift from the French establishment and opinion-makers, for whom the law is primarily a guarantee of freedom from religion.

If France was really being true to its republican values, however, it would be celebrating its pluralism after the attacks. The reason French law bans the collection of census data on race, ethnicity and religion is not because the state is supposed to be officially blind to such distinctions; at its origin, the law was meant to shield minorities from discrimination.

Faced with a growing Muslim minority and what Prime Minister Manuel Valls recently called a “territorial, social, ethnic apartheid,” France’s adherence to its own values is being challenged. Many French believe Islam and republicanism are incompatible. But what’s really incompatible are republicanism and anti-terror laws that criminalize unrepublican opinions.

Canada is facing largely the same challenge as France. Let’s hope we strike a better balance.

The perils of counterterror overreach – The Globe and Mail.

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Are you a jihadist? France’s checklist includes questions about diet, wardrobe and not listening to music

2015/02/02 Leave a comment

Stop jihadism - French

France’s latest effort to counter radicalization:

The chart presents a series of behavioural changes that supposedly ought to lead to concern. They range, it has to be said, from the obvious (frequently visiting extremist web sites) to the rather vague (not listening to music, for example). Other warning signs include a significant shift in one’s diet, the abandoning of sporting activities, a change in wardrobe toward more traditional garments, falling out with old friends and quitting school or one’s job.

This all makes sense, though it hardly presents a foolproof guide to spot the radicalization of a would-be jihadist. I’ve recently succumbed to a number of these behaviours myself — I’ve been lousy at going to the gym and often lose my headphones — but I don’t think you need to report me to the French government. And terrorists are often far more clever about concealing their agenda.

The chart risks the sort of mockery we’ve already seen leveled at the U.S. State Department’s “Think Again, Turn Away” campaign, which trolls jihadists and jihadist sympathizers online. Some analysts have called the effort “embarrassing” and “ineffective.”

The State Department, so far, seems undeterred. On Wednesday, it welcomed France’s campaign into the fold.

Are you a jihadist? France’s checklist includes questions about diet, wardrobe and not listening to music

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French prisons, long hotbeds of radical Islam, get new scrutiny after Paris attacks – The Washington Post

2015/01/31 Leave a comment

More on French prisons and radicalization:

France’s prisons have a reputation as factories for radical Islamists, taking in ordinary criminals and turning them out as far more dangerous people. Here at the Fleury-Merogis prison — where Amedy Coulibaly did time alongside another of the attackers in the deadly assaults this month in and around Paris — authorities are struggling to quell a problem that they say was long threatening to explode.

Former inmates, imams and guards all describe a chaotic scene inside these concrete walls, 15 miles from the elegant boulevards surrounding the Eiffel Tower. Militancy lurks in the shadows, and the best-behaved men are sometimes the most dangerous. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls promised last week to flood his nation’s prisons with 60 more Muslim chaplains, doubling their budget to try to combat radicalization. Authorities this week raided 80 prison cells of suspected radicals, saying they found cellphones, USB drives and other contraband. Hundreds of inmates in French prisons are a potential threat, authorities say.

But critics say that these efforts are minuscule compared with the scope of the problem, with prisons so poorly controlled that a leaked French government report once described Osama bin Laden posters hanging on inmates’ walls. The challenge may be compounded by the dozens of people sent to jail after the recent attacks, some for more than a year, under fast-track proceedings in which they were charged with verbal support for terrorism.

“Prison destroys men,” said Mohamed Boina M’Koubou, an imam who works in the Fleury-Merogis prison. “There are people who are easy targets to spot and make into killers.”

French prisons, long hotbeds of radical Islam, get new scrutiny after Paris attacks – The Washington Post.

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Un imam radical prêchera aux jeunes Montréalais 

2015/01/31 3 Comments

One really wonders why such people wish to stay in Canada, given their world outlook and values are so much at odds with liberal democratic values (other religions have their equivalents):

L’imam Hamza Chaoui a fait des vagues par le passé en raison de ses enseignements rigoristes. Sur sa page Facebook, où il prêche à quelques centaines d’abonnés, l’imam a récemment exposé son rejet total du système démocratique. «La législation islamique et la démocratie sont sur deux lignes en parallèle qui ne seront jamais en intersection» parce que la démocratie peut déboucher sur des Parlements formés «d’un mécréant ou bien d’un homosexuel ou d’un athée qui affirme l’inexistence d’Allah», selon M. Chaoui.

En réponse aux commentaires d’autres internautes, il a ajouté que «le vote en islam est haram (un péché) et n’est pas permis». «La démocratie est un système de mécréance et il faut le boycotter.»

M. Chaoui juge aussi sévèrement le système criminel canadien, qui n’apprendrait pas aux criminels à ne plus recommencer. Dans un prêche prononcé en 2013, il défend notamment l’amputation d’une main devant la foule pour punir les voleurs ainsi que la lapidation pour les époux adultères.

Il souligne toutefois qu’il s’agit de la conséquence prévue pour ces crimes dans l’islam, et que les musulmans canadiens ne devaient pas se faire justice eux-mêmes ou appliquer cette loi au Canada.

L’imam se prononce toutefois contre l’interdiction de conduire pour les femmes saoudiennes. De toute façon, la possibilité «d’entrer en contact physique avec les hommes» dans le transport en commun ou encore d’être seule dans un taxi avec un chauffeur de sexe masculin serait bien pire, selon lui.

Un imam radical prêchera aux jeunes Montréalais  | Philippe Teisceira-Lessard | Montréal.

And the Quebec government considers its options:

Jeudi, la ministre de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion, Kathleen Weil déclarait que cet imam tient des propos «dangereux» et qu’elle ne souhaite pas l’ouverture d’un tel centre communautaire. Or vendredi, La Presse a révélé que le projet avait déjà reçu l’aval de l’arrondissement Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, un feu vert permettant de réaménager le local que l’imam loue. Hamza Chaoui doit également obtenir un certificat d’occupation, une formalité qui, normalement, consiste seulement à vérifier si l’adresse correspond au zonage. Mais l’arrondissement et la Ville analysent également le dossier sous l’angle de la sécurité.

Alors que l’imam a déjà obtenu un permis, Kathleen Weil a répondu qu’elle «ressent des préoccupations» concernant «la sécurité publique». «L’État regarde tout ce qu’il a à sa disposition» pour intervenir dans ce dossier, a-t-elle dit au cours d’une brève mêlée de presse vendredi.

«L’État a beaucoup de choses à sa disposition. Il faut bien examiner la question. Il y a beaucoup d’acteurs au sein du gouvernement pour examiner ces questions. On pourra vous donner des réponses en temps et lieu», a-t-elle affirmé. Elle a souligné que la Sécurité publique est impliquée dans le dossier.

Parmi les outils à la disposition du gouvernement, elle a parlé de manière générale de «mesures dans la prévention, la détection et la répression de certains actes». «Il faut examiner, comprendre les enjeux avant de décider des actions. Ce n’est pas parce que moi je ne vous donne pas les réponses concrètes sur ce qui se fait que les choses ne se font pas», a-t-elle affirmé, mitraillée de questions sur les options qui s’offrent au gouvernement. La mêlée de presse a eu lieu avec 30 minutes de retard : la ministre a eu un long échange avec un membre de l’entourage du premier ministre Philippe Couillard avant de se présenter devant les journalistes.

Imam Chaoui: Québec étudie ses options

In English media:

Speaking to reporters in Quebec City, Kathleen Weil, Quebec’s minister of immigration, diversity and inclusion, said Mr. Chaoui’s views are “dangerous” and “unacceptable” in a democratic society like Quebec, where the rule of law applies and men and women are treated as equals.

“The city of Montreal, I am sure, shares our values, which are Quebec values,” Ms. Weil said. “They [his remarks] are dangerous.

“Clearly, my desire is that we don’t have this [community centre] where someone can spread these concepts. It’s unacceptable that we can have people on our territory who are teaching this to other people and the new generation.”

Later, Agnès Maltais, the Parti Québécois point person on secularism, and the PQ’s Carole Poirier denounced the imam’s statements and called on authorities to do everything in their power to impede him.

“The Imam Hamza Chaoui has made radical statements in the past, including stating the democracy and Islam are not compatible and that the vote is a sin,” Ms. Maltais said. “We strongly denounce these medieval statements.”

They said the situation shows that Premier Philippe Couillard’s statement that fundamentalism is a “personal choice,” as long as the laws are all respected, is illogical.

Anti-democracy imam gets cold reception from politicians over Montreal community centre plan

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Kenney: Conservative anti terror bill needs to walk a fine line

2015/01/29 Leave a comment

Will be interesting to see how the Government walks that fine line when the Bill is tabled Friday.

Kenney, given his strong belief in freedom of religion, will likely have weighed in during Cabinet and other discussions (his initial reaction to one of the periodic Quebec controversies over the niqab was more accommodating than his present positions):

There’s a fine line between legitimate religious expression and inciting terrorism, says Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney.

It’s that line the government will be walking – carefully – in its new anti-terrorism bill, expected to be unveiled Friday.

The bill is the government’s long-awaited legislative response to two attacks carried out on Canadian soldiers last fall by men believed to have been influenced by radical Islam – attacks the government considers acts of terrorism.

Though police already have the power to go after those suspecting of being on the verge of committing terrorist attacks, the new bill is partially aimed at stopping the seeds of those attacks from germinating altogether.

“Our objective is not to diminish legitimate expression of political or religious views, but rather incitement to terrorism – and there is a fine line there that the legislation will try to draw,” Kenney said in an interview Tuesday.

“Obviously there are some malevolent religious influences that can add to the process of radicalization towards violent extremism, and we have to be extremely mindful of that.”

Kenney: Conservative anti terror bill needs to walk a fine line.

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Quebec reopens its identity can of worms – Gagnon

2015/01/29 Leave a comment

Appropriately cutting commentary by Lysiane Gagnon:

What’s the link between an Islamist terrorist and a daycare worker who wears the hijab? Any sensible person would find the question utterly silly, but not Quebec’s radical secularists – and they’re at it again.

Here they are, shamelessly exploiting the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 12 dead three weeks ago, calling for a ban on religious symbols – as if such a ban was some sort of guarantee against potential terrorist attacks. (If it were, France wouldn’t have been targeted so often by home-grown terrorists, since it has the most stringent secular policies by far in the Western world.)

The blood of the Paris victims wasn’t even dry when Quebec’s radical secularists, led by the Parti Québécois opposition, began campaigning for some sort of revival of the secular charter that died when former premier Pauline Marois’s government was defeated after months of divisive and emotional debate.

The PQ, knowing full well that Premier Philippe Couillard is uncomfortable with identity politics, is pushing the government to pass legislation his Liberals promised, unwisely, before the election. The legislation, a much milder version of the PQ charter, would forbid public-sector employees to cover their faces (a non-existent problem) and set rules for “reasonable accommodations” between institutions and religious customers or employees (a problem that’s already been solved by local administrations).

Quebec reopens its identity can of worms – The Globe and Mail.

And Don Macpherson of the Gazette, on some of the internal PQ politics following Jean-François Lisée’s decision to pull out of the leadership race:

On sovereignty, Lisée said, the PQ had to “look the situation in the face.” It had to win the support of young people, who have “turned their backs on us,” and minorities, which “do not recognize themselves in us.” It had to accept the possibility that even with hard work, it might not win a mandate in the 2018 general election to hold a referendum.

The party had to “re-examine the contours of our project,” with a referendum process negotiated with the rest of Canada and “real independence,” with a Quebec currency as well as a Quebec citizenship. It had to end its “ambiguity on its identity” and show clearly that it is left-of-centre, environmentalist and humanist. It could no longer be against climate change and for developing shale oil.

And while the PQ continued to fight against the decline of French and for secularism, it had to have “a more open attitude” toward the English-speaking community and “a more active one” on the integration of immigrants.

But, Lisée said, there was no point in his going on; the election in May had already been decided, and Pierre Karl Péladeau had won. Lisée spoke with resignation and a trace of bitterness about the PQ wanting to “live its Pierre Karl Péladeau moment right to the end.” It was as if the PQ was infatuated with his rival for its affections, a passion against which Lisée was helpless and hopeless.

Don Macpherson: The PQ is determined to have its PK Peladeau moment

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L’intégrisme est un choix personnel, juge le premier ministre | Le Devoir

2015/01/28 Leave a comment

Sensible voices in Quebec:

Philippe Couillard n’a aucune intention de limiter le droit des intégristes de pratiquer une version radicale de leur religion, un choix personnel, selon lui, dans la mesure où ils respectent la loi.

« L’intégrisme, c’est une pratique religieuse poussée à l’extrême qui, tant qu’elle n’enfreint pas les droits des autres — des autres, exemple, les femmes —, bien sûr fait partie des choix personnels de chacun », a déclaré lundi Philippe Couillard, avant de participer au caucus présessionnel de ses députés.

Il ne faut pas confondre intégrisme et terrorisme. « Il y a beaucoup d’amalgames qui sont faits sur des concepts qui sont très distincts », a soutenu le premier ministre. Le terrorisme est « l’expression des extrémismes de tout type, bien sûr celui de l’islam radical, mais il y a d’autres extrémismes sur la planète. Mais celui-là est bien sûr celui dont on est préoccupé. »

Les propos de Philippe Couillard rejoignent ceux qu’a exprimés dans La Presse samedi Gérard Bouchard. « Il y a manifestement un lien entre intégrisme et terrorisme, mais l’un ne conduit pas nécessairement à l’autre. D’où la question : la prévention de la radicalisation religieuse conduira-t-elle à surveiller tous les intégristes et à restreindre leurs droits ? Ce serait inadmissible », juge l’historien et sociologue.

L’intégrisme est un choix personnel, juge le premier ministre | Le Devoir.

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Anti-terror bill: Can government balance security and civil rights?

2015/01/27 Leave a comment

The debate continues over the scope over the Government’s plans to introduce a bill with new measures on Friday:

The ideological debate is summarized by University of Ottawa national security law expert Craig Forcese.

“A risk-minimizing society would permit mass detentions in the expectation that the minimal increase in public safety from the dragnet would outweigh the massive injury to civil liberties,” he writes.

“A rights-maximizing society, however, would deny the state the power to detain except through conventional criminal proceedings, for which it would impose demanding standards, even at the risk of leaving people free whose intent and capacity are clear but whose terrorist acts lie in the future.”

In a recent statement to the Citizen, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien said: “Canadians want to be safe, but they also care profoundly about their privacy rights.

“Horrific attacks on innocent people obviously raise concerns about safety. But I was struck by the fact that, immediately after the attacks in Ottawa and in Paris, many people were talking about the importance of also protecting democratic rights such as free speech and privacy.

“Security is essential to maintain democratic rights, but our national security responses to acts of terror must be proportionate and designed in a way that protects the democratic values that are pillars of our Canadian society.”

Anti-terror bill: Can government balance security and civil rights? | Ottawa Citizen.

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