Dangerous Debate

Some readers may recall a prolonged debate last year on "national identity" that purported to air all opinions on the question and lift the lid that weighted down freedom of expression in France, and give the people a forum where their voices could be heard. It turned out quite differently because, considering the ideological proclivities of French political leaders and the media's propaganda machines, there was not a chance in the world for the debate to be anything but a carefully controlled hot air marathon. Any hint that preserving national identity required ipso facto a stop on immigration and a concerted effort to increase the white European birthrate was automatically considered to be "racist". Sarkozy's idea of course was to convince the French, once and for all, that French identity was a contract, and not a blood lineage. Anybody could be French if he obeyed French laws and was naturalized. The debate never resolved the question of what to do with people who refuse to obey French laws, who secretly plot to control French institutions, and who engage in jihad in the streets of France, but who have a French nationality.

Not content with one fiasco, Nicolas Sarkozy is planning a sequel. This time on "laïcité", the word that I keep in French since "secularism" does not quite mean the same thing. Laïcité, as I've repeated countless times, refers to the Church/State separation mandated by the 1905 law. This latest sure-to-be fiasco will take place on April 5, though April 1 would be a better choice.

One thing is patently clear from the start - any debate on laïcité is a debate on the Islamic presence in France. From this it follows that Muslims are opposed to the debate because (1) they see it as a manifestation of "islamophobia" and (2) Islam does not lend itself to debate - it is not debatable, hence any debate is a farce and a pretext for self-congratulatory statements from Sarkozy.

In January 2011 Nicolas Sarkozy hired an Algerian Muslim named Abderrahmane Dahmane to be his counselor on integration. Dahmane had also been national secretary of the UMP party and counselor on education. Nicolas Sarkozy later elevated him to the rank of general inspector of National Education. When the debate on laïcité was announced, Dahmane denounced it, perceiving that it would be a debate on Islam. On March 11 Sarkozy relieved Dahman of his duties as counselor on integration.

Shortly thereafter, on or about March 12, Dahmane was interviewed by an Algerian news source, TSA. Below are excerpts. You'll note the clever way Dahmane uses Western ideas, and Western politics for his own ends and twists historical facts to suit his purposes:

- What happened exactly?

- The ensemble of Muslims met yesterday at the Paris Mosque. For us, it was simply to put an end to this shameful debate. This debate that discriminates and stigmatizes the Muslims of France. As you know, the Algerian community is the majority community among Muslims. It matters little whether its members are practicing or non-practicing, they respect the Republic and its values. All the more since the Muslims who live here did not acquire their nationality by begging. They fought for this France. They fought for its values. In 1914-1918, 50,000 Muslims died at Verdun. In 1939-1945 they were there to chase the Nazi enemy.

Due to the fact that they are full-fledged citizens, it was out of the question for me to initiate a debate on Islam in France. I personally informed the president several times that this debate is counter-productive. And that it could be of no interest to the French people considering that the problem is the crisis in France - unemployment, housing… These were the real problems that have to be dealt with instead of religion. The debate on Islam should take place in the mosques just as the debate on Judaism should take place in the synagogues and the debate on Christianity in the cathedrals.

- But you have supported Nicolas Sarkozy since 2003…

- I thought I had an agreement with Nicolas Sarkozy. A friendly agreement. He cannot say one day "I am the friend of the Muslims" and the next day launch debates and entrust them to the people who are the real plagues for the Muslims, including Jean-François Copé (general secretary of the UMP party), his assistants and his partners some of whom are closely connected to the Front National. We did not join and work for the UMP or support Sarkozy only to find that he has placed us in a situation of discrimination and stigmatization. I am not Sarkozy's nutritional supplement, or that of Copé, even less so of others. And it is for this reason that I assembled the elected officials of the Right, the Left, the Center as well as minority associations and I said loud and clear that Copé is a plague for the Muslims and I continue to say it even if Sarkozy chooses to dismiss a man who is loyal and faithful. But I am loyal first to my community. The Muslim community. (…)

- What did Nicolas Sarkozy reproach you?

- Unfortunately Nicolas Sarkozy made a stupid mistake. He followed his advisers. He reproached me for having criticized the debate and his party. For me, the party, which is the equivalent of the Front National, merits my criticism. I am an associative party worker. I joined Nicolas Sarkozy at his request. Everybody knows: in 2003, I did not agree with certain of his proposals. I played the game for eight years. But I will not play the game of fascism. I will not play the game of exclusion.

- Do you have the impression that there exists today a desire on the part of President Sarkozy to attack and exclude Muslims?

- Of course, especially when the president goes through with a debate that is rejected by everybody, including Alain Juppé and François Fillon. Nicolas Sarkozy is wrong to try to get reelected in 2012 with votes from the Front National. Because it is diversity that allowed him to get elected in 2007. In 2012, we will form a barrier to fascism. We will form a barrier to the Front National. We will form a barrier to the friends of the Front National.

- That means that you call on Muslims not to vote for Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012?

- Today, I ask that they not vote for the UMP in any cantonal election. And we await the reaction of the president. The debate on Islam is not taboo, but a debate that makes scapegoats of Muslims is out of the question.

- Have you had a discussion today with Nicolas Sarkozy?

- I do not wish to speak with people who associate with the Front National.

In his weekly newsletter #120, Yves Daoudal also reports on the dismissal of Dahman and quotes him on the topic of financing the Paris Mosque which has been the responsibility of Algeria. In Dahmane's view, the grand mufti of the mosque, Dalil Boubakeur, because of his friendship with Sarkozy, is a traitor to Algerian values:

"I call on the president of the Algerian Republic and our compatriots to refuse to let themselves be stigmatized and marginalized in this way in French society. (…) Today it is Algeria that funds the Paris Mosque. Algerians and the ensemble of Muslims of all nationalities who have an admiration for Algeria and its revolution are surprised that we are financing traitors. How can the president of the Algerian Republic, who is after all the guarantor of the values of the revolution, continue to fund a mosque that has a traitor at its head? I say sincerely, the president must put an end to this situation. There are hundreds of mosques attached to Algeria that we could fund."

Yves Daoudal reminds us that Dahman, despite his dismissal as counselor to Sarkozy, is still a general inspector of FRENCH National Education.

In an article entitled The Indecency of Dahmane, Joachim Véliocas denounces the wearing of a "green star" by Muslims, an initiative of Dahmane who has ordered the manufacture of more than 600,000 green paper stars stamped "Muslim":

A few weeks ago, Abderrahmane Dahmane was fired by Nicolas Sarkozy for having protested against a debate on Islam's place in our society, going so far as to compare the UMP party to a "plague". Today, this former counselor on diversity has appealed to the Muslims of France to wear a "green star" in protest against an Islamophobic debate: "The green star is the sign that the Muslims of France have decided to wear as a way of demanding the end of the debate on Islam and the end of Islamophobia in the UMP party of Jean-François Copé" he explained in a communiqué.

A press conference is scheduled for March 29 in front of the Paris Mosque to launch the operation. A collective of Muslim associations has signed a text that denounces "an ideology that would expatriate on ships entire contingencies of French citizens back to their homeland, a galloping Islamophobia and the reign of one against the other, for a republic that is one and indivisible."

The UMP party, meanwhile, seems to be drowning in contradictions since Nicolas Sarkozy wants the debate to take place, while a great number of UMP deputies would like to put a stop to the "polemic". This green star, a somber historic symbol, could create deep trouble within the government.

Véliocas begins his article with a reminder that it is the Christians of the Middle East and Africa who are stigmatized and physically persecuted for their faith by Muslims, a fact that demonstrates the full measure of Dahman's indecency.

Note: I would add that Dahmane is simply playing our game with our own cards. He compares UMP to the Front National, he insists he will have nothing to do with "fascism", he assimilates Jews and Muslims, all the while offending the Jews with his green star. But at the same time he reveals several truths: that Algeria controls numerous mosques in France, that he has an intense hatred for Jean-François Copé (who is Jewish), that he was really just pretending to be on Sarkozy's side for eight years, but his true loyalty is to the Muslims. Of course, his words also show Nicolas Sarkozy for the fool that he is to have ever hired such a person. Whatever one thinks of Dahmane (and he is certainly an enemy of France), he would not be an inspector for National Education without Nicolas Sarkozy.