The Answer To The Riots In France Is Not A Fatwa

07 Nov, 2005 by John Hawkins

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Given the situation, this is so ridiculous that it’s almost funny:

“One of France’s largest Islamic groups issued a fatwa against rioting on Sunday after officials suggested Muslim militants could be partly to blame for violent protests scarring poor neighbourhoods around the country.

The Union of French Islamic Organisations (UOIF) quoted the Koran and the Prophet Mohammad to back up the religious edict condemning the disorder and destruction the unrest caused.

Many rioters are of North African Arab and black African descent and assumed to be Muslims. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and other officials have hinted Islamist militants may be manipulating angry teenagers to defy the French state.

Muslim residents in the rundown suburbs say rioters’ anger is more about unemployment and discrimination than religion. France’s 5 million Muslims make up 8 percent of the population and many consider themselves second-class citizens here.

“It is formally forbidden to any Muslim seeking divine grace and satisfaction to participate in any action that blindly hits private or public property or could constitute an attack on someone’s life,” the fatwa said.”

Is a Fatwa really the answer to riots? Are there conversations like this actually happening in France right now?

Ali: Wait a second Osama Jr., do not throw that petrol bomb at the car.

Osama Jr.: What do you mean? After we cashed our welfare checks this morning, we spent the rest of the day making these petrol bombs just so we could throw them at cars. I remember you specifically say, “Oh boy, Osama Jr., I cannot wait to throw petrol bombs at cars” just a few hours ago.

Ali: Yes, but there is now a Fatwa saying that we cannot riot.

Osama Jr.: Oh a fatwa, oh…hey, enlighten me on something Ali; Where exactly in the Koran does it give us permission to make Molotov cocktails and throw them at cars unless there is a fatwa? Since when did the Prophet say: “Next time you’re in Paris, throw stones at the police officers and beat people with lead pipes unless a fatwa is issued”. I don’t remember that in the Koran, do you?

Ali: Yes, but…

Osama Jr.: Yes, but nothing. If you were so concerned about being a “good Muslim”, you wouldn’t have been out here with me rioting every night for the last week and a half. So shut up already and let’s see if we can find a synagogue!

Ali: A synagogue! Now you’re talking. Then can we burn some more buildings down in our own neighborhood?

Osama Jr.: Sure we can Ali, sure we can!

You want to know how to stop the riots in France? Set curfews and then send in the French police (and whatever the equivalent of the National Guard is over there), decked out in riot gear and put sniper teams on the rooftops. Then, whenever the police encounter a group of rioters, indiscriminately spray the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets and start swinging batons at everyone left standing. If someone throws a Molotov cocktail, shoot him. If someone pulls out a gun, shoot him. Then, when you’re done, arrest anyone left standing or laying around, and move to the next corner.

That would put an end to the riots in short order with no fatwas involved — which is a good thing. Even if the fatwa worked, it would still be bad news, because it would likely lead to a bunch of Muslim Imams trying to subtlety blackmail the government:

“You know, we’re the only thing keeping 8% of the population in check. Without us, there would be riots all over France and you don’t want that do you? Good, good, now let’s talk about implementing Sharia in just a few places to begin with…”

No thanks to that.

The longer the French let these riots go on, the more likely they are to spread, even beyond France’s borders, and the more likely there are to be other Paris riots. So what the French need to do is forget about appeasement, accept that Sarkhozy was right when he called the rioters, “scum,” and then clean the scum off the streets. That’s not just the right thing to do for all the innocent people being affected by these riots, it’s the smart thing to do.