Studies on radicalization & comments

[Tom Odom]

Earlier, France was my model — even if I also resented this. But my ideal was to be French, to act like the French: to have my wife, my kids, my car, my apartment, my house in the country, to become an average Frenchman and live in peace. . . . [E]ven before I had French citizenship or I had work, in my mind, I wanted to conform to the image of the average Frenchman, to be like them, to make myself in their image. But at the same time I had the feeling that this was more or less impossible: they didn’t want me, even if I had citizenship and all the rest. They looked down on me, they treated me like I was nothing, they despised me. This contempt was killing me. Were we really so despicable? . . . I went back and forth between what I was and what I wanted to be: a little Frenchman. Whereas I was an Algerian. I was tortured by it. Some days, I couldn’t fall asleep, I had the impression that my life had no meaning, that my part in life had been unjustly denied me.

Interesting in that many of these exact sentiments fueled Franz Fanon in writing Wretched of the Earth as a statement of disillusionment with France and especially his realization that as an Martinique born citizen of greater France he would never be accepted as French. I have to believe that Rosenthal is playing on that parallel with his paragraph heading French masks, Muslim faces because Fanon's first book was titled Black Skin, White Masks,. Fanon advocated communism as the answer to colonialism. Rosenthal makes the point that the French Jihadists advocate radical Islam as an answer to French "racism".

Best

Tom

[taillat]

Three points:
-first, I don't think that french are racists. French with arabian origin maybe feel themselves as "discriminates".However, this is a widespread feeling that must be explained.
-This feeling rely on the a fact. French society has failed to challenge the multiculturalist turn 30 years ago. Since French society has universalist claim (which means a belief in the superiority in the so-called "Enlightment") it could never understand outer-european culture. This is linked with the colonisation. It was long seen as a civilisationnal task for us, and a deep humiliation by this proud arab culture. Universalist habit dressed in humanitarian concerns (antiracism whose result was the acceptance of islamic customs) failed to integrate arabs when they came in France. Furthermore, its arrogance doesn't convince the second and third generations of arabs born in France (and thus having french nationality) that French culture and french social model was worthing to fight for it. The consequence was growing violence, ghettoism, and reject of laicity and french identity. If France is responsible of growing vocations in terrorism, it is due to its incapacity to structure a coherent national identity for the young arabs (who are french!!!). For example, teachers must teach France's history through a critical lens, with more and more repentance about the past, seen as "dark moments of our history". The french-arabs have no idea of the pride to be french. Furthermore, they feel not to share a common identity with other french communities. European tragedy lies here: we failed to transmit what our ancestors gave us. Our universalist ideology betrayed us.
-in an other way, these young terrorists had the possibilities not to become such. I usually encountered young french-arabs in french army. Reports (which couldn't rely on ethnic statistics, because it's forbidden by law to ask someone for its ethnic origins) learned us that they are well integrated, even if they are mosque-going. I think that these young french who became terrorist had no landmarks about their country (who is France.When they "came back" in Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco, they are considered as French and rejected also). This is the result of a thirty-years-old policy based upon antiracism (and acceptance of foreign customs) without true integration (which could have relied on a national indentity). In the other way, this is also the result of misperception about other french. Because they were born in France from arabian parents (or grandparents), they believed they are rejected. Because secularity is well-advanced in France, they weren't able to recognise in such a society (as for the catholics today who are truly persecuted). The sole way is violence against us and against West which is seen as responsible for their "mal de vivre".
To sum up, french terrorist with arabian origin are not victims of racism. They are the result of a policy. This policy consisted of national identity filled with guilt-feeling about the past. It has confused tolerance with inaction. It has failed to integrate these foreigner to an universalist (but european-based) ideology which confused secularity with anti-religion. To conclude, terrorism has met frustration and lack of strong and pride identity