Brutal assaults on Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite — Lee Yew Ming
And on July 26, two 19-year-olds pledging allegiance to Islamic State (IS) slit the throat of Father Jacques Hamel in his church. Absolute madness!
I was having a tete-a-tete with French ambassador Christophe Penot at his official residence on the day of the Normandy slaying.
As I see France
Many European countries have tumultuous history before finding themselves, with quite a few taking more arduous routes than France.
The lessons learned and resultant values from the French Revolution (1789-99) — Liberty, Equality and Fraternity — were followed by other European nations, and continue to be the foundation of France’s political theatre. So how can that render France to be the focused target of religious extremism and IS madmen?
Christophe thinks it has a lot to do with the fact that his country has the highest North African communities on the continent. Another Frenchman, Fabien Giallonardo, reminds me that France was once a colonial master of Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco and more. In fact, French sovereignty was second only to the British Empire.
Perhaps, this time, Marine Le Pen of the conservative National Front could be a serious front-runner in the 2017 presidential election. Immigration policies would undoubtedly be even more stringent.
A few days ago, President Francois Hollande announced the formation of a new National Guard, composed of volunteers from operating reserves of the police and military to strengthen the protection against terrorist attacks. Since January last year, more than 200 people have been killed from this insanity.
Christophe also informed that intelligence services have reported some 2,000 citizens of France are IS members/supporters, the single largest number in Europe.
The ambassador didn’t seem to know how to respond when I posited that it appears these 2,000 Frenchmen are seeking revenge upon their country. Why this anger?
Their gendarme is probably as universally known as the English bobby, and always depicted as friendly and helpful. I asked Christophe to share their secret. He believes their gendarme have blended so successfully into the French society that they have become more than just policemen. They have become “dependable friends” and when needed to be, the “defender” of all that is incorrect or unjust.
I think our police ran a campaign headed towards this end 25 or 30 years ago, called “Bermesra dengan rakyat”. I never read of their success levels. I guess these engagement programmes must have the essential ingredient — mutual respect — to begin with.
Otherwise, it is another sloganeering exercise.
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools was passed in 2004. It is explicit that symbols from all religions are banned in government primary and secondary schools. The separation of church (religion) and state is strenuously observed even though she is a Catholic country.
The world has been enriched in the arts and culture through French lenses, though not always knowingly. Did we know that Bluebeard, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots and Mother Goose Tales were of French origin? Of course, we are all enthralled with Les Miserables, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo.
The Cannes Film Festival is a major annual event, which is arguably the largest film marketplace in the world. My film heroes were Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon.
The “Order of Arts and Letters” recognising eminent artists and writers who have contributed significantly to France or throughout the world is a widely accepted honour. Some notable recipients are Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman and our own Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh.
Then, there is the famed French wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and so on. And fashion brands like Channel, Dior, Givenchy, Lanvin, among others. Christophe confirmed that his country has cornered 25 per cent of the world’s luxury goods market offering employment to some two million workers.
Career diplomat
Christophe (born 1955) was posted here 20 months ago. He joined the Foreign Service in 1983 and has served in various capacities in Hanoi, Tokyo, London, and Ottawa and within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at home, of course. He is married to Yukimi Saito and has four children from an earlier marriage.
He has just moved into the new ambassador’s residence, which used to be the home of Tun Sir Henry Lee (first finance minister of Malaya, 1957 to 1959). The Lee family could only agree to rent though there was an offer to purchase.
France has about 200 foreign missions, including permanent representatives at the United Nations, European Union and Nato. They also have a small cultural office in North Korea, but pulled out of Syria four years ago. France is actually represented as far as the UN stretches, and a little more.
There are more than 270 French companies in Malaysia and the community is 3,500 strong. The world leader in vaccines Sanofi Pasteur has a 50 per cent market share in Malaysia.
Postscript
In 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of (Sir) Ahmad Salman Rushdie because he found Rushdie’s book Satanic Verses blasphemous.
Two months ago, a state mufti pronounced kafir harbi on those opposing the Private Member’s Bill by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. The mufti labelled those supposedly opposed to Islam as kafir harbi when commenting on non-Muslims’ objection to hudud.
Kafir harbi refers to non-Muslims who wage war against Islam, and some Islamic scholars believe this category of infidels can be slain.
On the other hand, Gus Dur, Indonesian president (1999-2001) and long-time head of Nahdlatul Ulama (largest independent Islamic organisation in the world), said, “Tuhan tidak perlu dibela” (God doesn’t require defending).
Can one ever make sense of religious edicts which call for violence?
* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
from Malay Mail Online | All http://ift.tt/2aH2EHc
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