What can the French Government do to stop and prevent the Islamic Terrorism Crisis in France?

Answer 1

There is NO Islamic Terrorism. Terrorism has no religion. No religion of the world permits killing of innocent human beings. Islam teaches that all human beings are the off-spring of a single couple- Hazrat Adam AS and Hazrat Eve AS. They are all brothers. According to the teachings of the Qur'an, the holiest and most sacred Book of Islam, killing of One innocent human being (irrespective of his caste, color, religion, region, country, is like killing all human race. I am a Muslims. I strongly condemn the ruthless killing of innocent human beings, be it in Paris, London, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan or any other part of the world. I feel for the bereaved families and the departed souls. Many Muslim countries are facing terrorism, especially in Pakistan thousands of Muslims have been killed by the so-called Muslims. Let us raise our voice jointly against terrorism in the world. Let us try to wipe out hatred from this unfortunate planet. All humans have been created by Almighty God, and He loves them all. The merciless murder of innocent people in Paris has shocked every human being, irrespective of religion.

Answer 2

Clarification of Terms
First of all, the French government needs to identify the enemy. France and its secular values are being attacked by individuals who believe in Islamism and Jihadism. The use of these term and the designation of these ideologies as toxic is critical to get everyone on the same page.

We should clarify that while Islam is a religion and Jihad a religious concept within Islam, Islamism and Jihadism are political ideologies. The goal of Islamism is to bring the religious tenets of Islam into the daily functioning of a government and its laws. Jihadism is a form of Islamism that not only wishes a particularly repressive version of Islamic Law to be instituted, but believes that violence in defense of the faith is the preferred way to do this. Jihadism, like Islamism, is a political ideology rooted in Islamic religious concepts, but distorted. The distortion here is that there are many ways to advocate on behalf of Islam and the choice to exclusively use violence is a misinterpretation of the doctrine. While it is only a minority (between 10-20%) of Muslims who are Islamists and a far smaller number (<3%) who are Jihadists, almost all Islamists and Jihadists are Muslims.

Islamism and Jihadism are both modern political theories, barely more than 100 years old and while there may be some debate about whether all forms of Islamism should be opposed, there is no real disagreement outside of Islamist circles that Jihadism should be opposed. Islamism is in direct opposition to the concepts of secularism, equality before the law, and freedom of speech. Jihadism is in direct opposition of peaceful and mutual cooperation between nations.

Place of Muslims in the War on Islamism
The French government needs to explain that to the extent that Muslims support secularism and freedom of religion in France, they are to be counted among the allies of the French people. Muslims who believe in the virtues and values of France should be part of the front-line of the French defense. Liberal Islamic Seminaries and Pro-Secularist Muslims in France should be supported and protected to change the narrative in Islamic Communities. Those Muslims and their community leaders who support Islamism, e.g. the legal implementation of Islamic Law, should be politically ostracized and condemned.

Methods to Go About Fighting Islamism and Jihadism
Jihadist movements that actually control territory, like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), can only really be dealt with militarily and to liberate the people under their control. The French Government has been part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State. However, taking direct violent action against Jihadists in areas that they do not control, such using drone strikes in Pakistan, has been shown to not only be ineffective at curbing Islamism, but actually lends credence to arguments put forward by Islamists to Non-Islamist Muslims that the only way to preserve their way of life is to join the fight against the West and its values. As a result, taking direct violent action in areas not controlled by Jihadists should be avoided.

Governmental Intiatives.
Unfortunately, the real opposition to Islamism needs to come from Non-Islamist Muslims, either those who believe in secularism and/or basic human rights and democracy. However, Non-Muslims can take some actions in this regard.

1) Awareness: Raise Awareness about Islamism and its distinct political and apartheid character. When people are informed, they can politically mobilize. Government officials should change policies that promote excising the word "Islam" and the relevant parts of Islamic theology that undergird Islamism from official counter-terrorism manuals and courses. To avoid discussing the religious ideas from which Islamism is derived prevents police and defense officials from accurately assessing the enemy.

2) Liberal Islam: Promote, within Islam, any reformers like Tawfik Hamid, Maajid Nawaz, Irshad Manji, Tarek Fatah, etc. who could create a viable non-politically oriented Islam so that there is another path for Muslims. Also support individuals like Mustafa Akyol who promote an Islamic defense of secularism. These voices need to be able to sway more people to the idea that true Islam does not promote Islamism.

3) Political Correctness: Help breach the requirements that speech be "tolerant" of different groups in society so that we can actually have discussions about the problematic entities (Islamism among others) in society, without worrying about offending people.

4) Human Rights Enforcement:Create nationwide and worldwide coalitions of people who defend the validity of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights that can actively take a political and military stand to oppose the rising tide of jihads and jihadism. As a nation that provides aid to other countries and has a powerful role in the European Union, France can help tie economic aid and humanitarian aid incentives to countries that do a better job of enforcing human rights, defending secularism, and protecting minorities. France can also withdraw funding from failures to protect these rights.

5) Local Law Enforcement: In a number of Western countries there are already laws on the books that outlaw vile practices associated with Islam, such as female genital mutilation. The non-enforcement of these laws selectively on Muslims helps enforce the Islamist narrative that Muslims should have superior privileges over Non-Muslims. As a result, enforcement is key. Locations that the police choose not to enforce the law in for fear of being seen as racist must have the laws enforced there.

6) Hate Speech Laws: Enforce hate speech laws repeatedly on Imams who actually say vile and hateful statements (such as more radical Imams and Islamist political parties like Hizb at-Tahrir and al-Muhajirun) and not against those who simply point out that such things are being said by the former.