French Muslims Whine
The al-Reuters headline reads: French Govt., Muslims Appeal for Reporters’ Release.
But unless there were statements not reported in this article, the French Muslim leaders quoted didn’t say one word about releasing the French reporters—they were too busy covering their asses.
French Muslim leaders reacted nervously to the news and promptly denied there was any link between the two issues.
“The French Muslim community is absolutely innocent,” said Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith. “I beg that there not be any confusion between the French Muslim community and this odious blackmail.”
Lhaj Thami Breze, head of the Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) [the French branch of Egypt’s banned Muslim Brotherhood…. —ed.] which has urged schoolgirls to defy the ban, said the headscarf issue was strictly a French affair. “We cannot accept any outside interference,” he said.
UPDATE at 8/29/04 9:09:24 am:
The Associated Press also has a release claiming that French Muslim leaders have condemned the kidnappings—but again, this “condemnation” does not seem to be present in their actual statements.
In France, Muslim leaders were strong in their condemnation. Some expressed fears, however, of a backlash for the 5 million-strong Muslim community, western Europe’s biggest.
“We must not negotiate. It is blackmail which the Muslims of France reject. It is blackmail which does not serve the Muslim cause and which unfortunately holds the Muslim community hostage,” said Lhaj Thami Breze, president of the powerful Union of Islamic Organizations of France.
“The head scarf issue is a solely French affair and we do not accept foreign interference,” he added.
Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith, said the kidnapping could present “danger” for French Muslims and he urged them to condemn it.
“Our community is adult enough to speak with the French government about its own problems,” he told Associated Press Television News. “We need peace. We need serenity. We need humanity — without these terrible events.”
