FRENCH ANTI-JIHAD GUIDE MOCKED ONLINE
Cairo, 11 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/1 February 2015 (MINA) – A French “anti-Jihad” guide has been widely mocked on social media after warning parents that their kids might be radicalized if they buy new clothes and stop eating baguettes.
“The government invites you to be wary of those who do not eat baguettes,” one twitter user wrote, Express reported on Friday, January 30.
The guide includes nine info graphics which show signs of radicalization that can be noticed by French parents to protect their children, , On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
The signs include rejecting family members, becoming wary of old friends, changing eating habits, abandoning school or professional training besides stop listening to music.
Radicalized children will also avoid watching TV or going to cinemas, abandon sporting activities, changing their normal cloths, joining social networks of radical or extremist characters and withdrawing into themselves by keeping themselves form social occasions, the guide say.
Run by the French Interior Ministry, the guide was published on a website that was launched to promote the “Stop Jihadism” campaign.
The website, which is a part of the country’s £325-million campaign to counter extremism, has also produced a shocking video that displays messages promoted by extremist to lure youth.
“They say to you: ‘sacrifice yourself at our side, you defend a just cause’,” one message in the video said, The Independent reported.
The screen then turns to black and white pictures of people wearing hoods and says: “In reality, you will discover hell on earth and die alone, a long way from your home”.
The anti-jihad guide has poked fun since its launch on twitter, with users mocking the radicalism list using the hashtag #stopjihadisme.
“French parents: if your kids stop eating baguette they’re basically halfway to jihad,” a twitter user wrote.
While another said, “Beware of gluten-free terrorists”.
The controversial guide comes two weeks after government announced plans to bolster counter-terrorism efforts in a bid to curb extremism following Paris attacks that left 17 killed earlier this month.
Under the new measures, the government will hire about 2,680 people and increase spending by €425m to counter extremism in the European country.
Prosecutors will be also granted a legal frame work to bring terrorist to justice and more Muslim scholars will be deployed to French jails.
Muslims in Europe have been facing an increasing resentment after Paris attacks.
The National Observatory Against Islamophobia said over one hundred incidents have been reported to the police since Charlie Hebdo attacks of January 7-9.
The rise in attacks over the last two weeks represents an increase of 110 percent over the whole of January 2014, the organization said on Monday.
Moreover, a Muslim father was stabbed to death in his own home in southern France this week by a neighbor who claimed to be avenging Charlie Hebdo.
Reflecting the hysteria that has engulfed France since Charlie Hebdo attacks, an 8-year-old Muslim schoolboy was interrogated by French police after refusing to take part in a minute’s silence in honor of victims. (T/P011/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
