In November 2015, ISIS was named responsible for acts of terrorism in Paris, France, killing
more than 100 people.
This would be the second attack by Islamic extremists that the city has faced in 2015,
following the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January.
Although threats have long been made that extremists would attack a European city, nobody
actually expected it to happen, much less twice in one year.
So we wanted to know, why are terrorists targeting Paris?
Well, in their statement taking credit for the attack, ISIS referred to Paris as being
"the capital of prostitution and vice".
But this may be more related to France’s cultural distinction from what ISIS, and other
Islamic extremists consider appropriate.
France has one of the highest Muslim populations in Western Europe.
But so do countries like Germany and the Netherlands, which have not seen similar acts of Islamic
terrorism.
Overall, France has been openly aggressive about certain aspects of religious culture.
In 2004, a ban was instituted on conspicuous religious symbols being worn in French public
schools.
But many believed the law to target the Islamic headscarf, worn by Muslim women for modesty.
In 2009, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy even supported a ban on burqas, which are
another type of covering for Muslim women.
The French government has also been virulent on extremism since the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
In January, the French Premier declared war on “radical islam”.
And at the same time, France has a disproportionate number of Muslim immigrants.
Roughly 7.5% of the French population is Muslim, Yet, new immigrants in France often end up
in suburban neighborhoods called “banlieue”.
These are primarily low-income and high-unemployment areas, which see greater scrutiny from the
police and the public.
These predominantly Muslim neighborhoods suffer from cultural segregation, and serve to alienate
and marginalize new immigrants.
The distinction between French and non-French has even been likened to apartheid.
High rates of dissatisfied, unemployed, marginalized youths were reportedly the reason for the
2005 French riots, which saw many young Muslim participants.
So, domestically, France is marginalizing their Muslim population, while showing a clear
opposition to radical Islam, creating ideal conditions for homegrown terrorism.
In fact, a number of the terrorists in the November attack were French nationals.
Reports also show that roughly 1,700 French citizens have joined ISIS thus far, making
France is the biggest source of foreign fighters.
But France’s foreign policy has been blamed as well.
One of the Paris gunmen reportedly shouted “this is for Syria” before opening fire.
Roughly a year earlier, in September 2014, France began airstrikes against the Islamic
State in Iraq while openly opposing Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
In recent months, France also began bombing ISIS strongholds within Syria, and last week
blew up an important source of oil and gas revenue.
But in the end, it may just have come down to ease of access.
Although the United States and ISIS are primary enemies, it is much more difficult to travel
to the US and plan an attack.
France might be unique, both culturally and politically.
But nearly every European country shares some of those potentially targeted characteristics,
and many are saying that the attack on France may have been more opportunistic, than purely
ideological.
So what exactly does it take for someone to commit these terrible acts?
Find out over at DNews.
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