November 8, 2005

French Riots: Example of How Not to Respond

The riots in France are now entering their 13th night. Early indications show they may finally be losing some steam--at least temporarily. The Chirac government has finally declared a state of emergency after nearly two weeks of mayhem, which has engulfed every corner of France. Chirac's impotence in the face of the attacks (he didn't make his first public statements on the violence until Sunday--eleven days after the rioting began) should be held up as an example of how not to deal with a national crisis.

The big question here is whether the riots will continue over the next several days, weeks, and even months--in other words, if this is a sustained uprising--or "intifada"-- spearheaded by the millions of Muslim immigrants who live on French soil. And if so, what are the solutions? Will France allow its Muslims to simply break away and establish their own separate country within a country--as some French Muslims have openly pined for--complete with Islamic sharia law? That scenario is doubtful--at least in the short term--but it's sure to come up in discussion as the dust from the riots clears.

Perhaps even more important is this question: will the violence spread to other countries in Europe that are home to large, restless Muslim populations? Early indicators are that it already has: car burnings have been reported the past few nights in Belgium and Germany, and Muslims in Denmark rioted last week. So how will Europe deal with this aggressive Islamic challenge? The barbarians are no longer merely at the gates; indeed, they are now positioning themselves to become the gatekeepers. Will Europe rediscover the fighting spirit of its glorious past? Or will it go quietly into the night, disowning Western civilization and surrendering itself to Islam with barely a whimper?

If the Islamic bombings in Madrid and London, the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, and the current riots in France haven't woken Europe out of its secular, post-Christian slumber, I don't know what will. As for France, early indications of how it plans to deal with this crisis aren't promising. Check out French PM Dominique de Villepin's pandering in this article from Bloomberg News. Oh, and in other European Islam news, it looks like the Brits are eventually going to have to ban Christmas altogether in their rush not to "offend" Muslims.

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