Politic?: Investigating Islamofascism in France

"[Sefrioui -- Abdelhakim Sefrioui — a Moroccan-born Islamist described by one prominent French Muslim leader as] dangerous [was] dangerous because he seduces the youth."
"He is more dangerous than [Islamist academic] Tariq Ramadan because he seduces the base, the parents."
Hassen Chalghoumi, imam, Parisian suburb of Drancy

"Sefrioui does not have the right to speak on our behalf."
"It is a personal initiative, which in no way commits the council."
Daw Meskine, Council of French Imams

"[Extremists are] people who, engaged in a process of radicalization, are likely to want to go abroad to join terrorist groups or take part in terrorist activities."
French government definition

Protestors in the Place de la Republique in Paris following the brutal murder of school teacher Samuel Paty. Photo: Panoramic / Reuters.

They are also people who express their radicalization as Islamofascists who remain in France infiltrating the system and the culture to demand that France and its population of non-Muslims pay due obeisance to Islamist Sharia law, incompatible with French culture, freedoms of conscience, speech and behaviours. Violence is never too far from the offing when Islam feels 'insulted' by casual French dismissal of ongoing demands that the tender sensibilities of Islam not be assaulted by the vaunted French freedoms.

And Abdelhakim Sefrioui, an influential imam who has a penchant for inciting to 'action', has been in the sights of French intelligence for 20 years, known for his ability to agitate the Muslim collective in sympathy with the 'plight' of the Palestinians, living pitiably in what he describes as "the worst concentration camp mankind has ever known", making use of a wide variety of social media platforms to get his message across.

The day prior to the slaughter of Samuel Paty, Sefrioui showed up at the Conflans-Sainte-Honorine school where he filmed an interview with a female Muslim student, who said that the history teacher had told her she might want to "leave the class", before showing students an image of a “naked man” who supposedly represented Muhammad. In a follow-up meeting with school management, Sefrioui asserted that Muslim children “had been attacked and humiliated in front of their classmates", demanding Mr. Paty's immediate suspension, referred to him as "this thug".

For his prominent role in organizing protests against Samuel Paty, Sefrioui was taken into custody for questioning on Sunday. He is being held partially responsible for inciting 18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdoullakh Anzonov — who shouted the words “Allahu akbar”, as he slaughtered Mr. Paty. After which, according to investigators, Anzonov sent a photo of Paty’s decapitated head to French President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter, along with the message that he had “taken revenge on the one who insulted the Prophet Muhammad".

Muslim parents whose children attended the school, targeted Mr.Paty for protests, and one of those parents sought out the help of Sefrioui, bringing him into the cabal that went to great lengths to persuade the school authorities to dismiss Mr. Paty who had been receiving threats ever since his class discussion of freedom of speech, using Sharia-forbidden cartoons of Mohammad as a visual assist.

Samuel Paty, a well-liked teacher, had been threatened over showing the cartoons AFP

As the investigation proceeds in the face of widespread French anger over the atrocity, four pupils of the school who are thought to have received payment in exchange for identifying Mr. Paty to his killer have been detained, bringing a total of 15 suspects into custody, including the killer's grandfather, parents and 17-year-old brother, all held in some way accountable for the ghastly murder. Then there is the father of one of the pupils who launched a campaign online against Mr.Paty, inciting Muslims to react to the unspeakable assault on Mohammad represented by the illustrative cartoons.

Both the father and Abdelhakim Sefrioui whom he had recruited, have been accused of having issued a "fatwa" against the teacher, by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. Dozens of raids targeting suspected Islamist radicals were carried out on Monday, some not linked to the murder of Mr. Paty. Police planned to interview some 80 people believed to have posted messages supporting the killing, according to Mr. Damanin. "We want to harass and destabilize this movement in a very determined way", another interior ministry source stated.

A probe of 51 French Muslim associations is also being undertaken, with the intention of closing down any discovered to be promoting hatred. Mr.Durmanin labelled an "enemy of the state", one organization, the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), which monitors anti-Muslim hate crime in France. It accuses the minister of slander. The Interior Minister had made the claim that the group was "obviously" involved in Friday's grotesque attack.