Terror Attacks In France: A Culture Of Denial

On October 3, 2019, a knife-wielding Muslim employee of the Paris Police Department Intelligence Directorate stabbed to death four other employees at police headquarters in the center of Paris, before a trainee police officer shot and killed him. While it was not the deadliest terror attack France has experienced in recent years, the fatal stabbings that took place at the Paris police headquarters were perhaps the most worrisome. Its author (a French public servant employed by the police), its highly sensitive target, and the catastrophic handling of the aftermath of the attack reveal the failure of the French institutions.

As it was the case for all recent terror attacks, French media and authorities first tried to downplay what happened. The attacker was initially described through potentially mitigating factors, such as his handicap (the killer is partly deaf and mute). It took 24 hours before it was eventually revealed that he was an Islamist militant who had carefully planned his attack.

That a radicalized militant had been able to remain undetected in a critical security institution for years sent shockwaves throughout the country. Members of the parliamentary opposition asked for the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Christophe Castaner, who at first had said that the attacker "had never shown any warning signs or behavioral difficulties." For the record, this "very normal behavior" included cutting down to a bare minimum communication with women (he had for months being avoiding all women but his wife), attending a notoriously radical mosque, and having a phone full of Islamist contacts. His colleagues reported that already in January 2015, he had cheered the murderous Islamist terror attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in front of other police employees. In many countries, a mistake of this scale would be enough for a government minister to resign, but not in France.

The whole picture of the attack, which is still not clear, demonstrates an incredible failure of internal control inside the French police. The French Parliament is now asking how the murderer managed to fly under the radar when everything in his behavior clearly signaled an increasing radicalization.

Notably, this is the first time that the French state and its institutions were directly targeted. Also for the first time, the victims were not journalists (as was the case for the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015), Jews (who have been targeted several times in recent years) or civilians (such as the massive coordinated attacks in Paris on November 2015 that caused more than 131 deaths and 413 wounded). This latest attack also demonstrates how inadequately prepared France is to tackle the problem. The killer was not just any civil servant: his security clearance allowed him to have access to sensitive files such as the personal details of police officers and individuals monitored by the department, including several individuals suspected of terrorism.

After Charlie Hebdo, the Bataclan in Paris, the truck-ramming massacre in Nice, and countless other attacks, French institutions have failed repeatedly. However, instead of recognizing this failure and assuming a share of responsibility, instead of hitting the problem of religious radicalization head-on, French President Emmanuel Macron regularly describes it as a "societal problem," that "institutions alone will not be able to solve." It is necessary first to recognize and name a problem in order to tackle it. In the current state of affairs, French political institutions are a long way from success in the fight against terrorism. Beyond the political sphere, there is also a culture a denial of the Islamist threat in the French media. Journalists, academics and politicians, with a few exceptions, have consistently played down not only the risk of terrorist attacks but also the threat of growing Salafist radicalization in the country. A growing number of Muslims, while not advocating the use of violence, desire to live under Sharia law, separate from the rest of French society. According to a study by the Montaigne Institute, 29% of Muslims in France believe that Sharia law is more important than French law. This means that almost one-third of French Muslims live according to values that are fundamentally incompatible with French or Western standards.

Although France is the European country most targeted by Islamists (263 killed since 2012), politicians are paralyzed by the fear of being accused by the mainstream media of discrimination against Muslims, of creating an amalgam between terrorists and Muslims or of "fueling tensions."  Senior figures acknowledge a major problem only when they are no longer in charge. In a book published after he stepped down, the socialist former president François Hollande wrote: "Islam? Yes, there is indeed a problem with Islam. Nobody doubts this. The Islamic veil is a form of enslavement. We cannot continue welcoming migrants without any form of control in the context of increased terror attacks." Hollande never would have said such a thing when he was president. Like others, he sheepishly ignored the problem.

The same happened with Christophe Castaner's predecessor, Gerard Collomb, after he resigned as Interior Minister. He warned against no less than the risk of civil war in France."In some suburbs (...) it is the rule of the strongest, of drug dealers and radical Islamists that prevails instead of the laws of the Republic... Today we live side by side, next to each other, but tomorrow, I fear that we might end up facing each other. It is important to note that theses quotes are not from right-wing thinkers or activists. Both François Hollande and Gerard Collomb were long-time eminent figures of the Socialist Party.

These are typical examples of what some call "la démission des élites" (the abdication of the elites): refusing to act on a situation of which they are perfectly aware but afraid to mention because of the dominant ideology of political correctness.In the meantime, France's police officers are increasingly unmotivated and demoralized. Since the start of the year, more than 50 police officers have committed suicide. They face increasingly difficult working conditions, in particular, rioters in the suburbs of cities like Paris, Marseille, Lille or Lyon -- suburbs that are progressively escaping the control of the French authorities. Attack after attack, the ritual is the same. There are flowers, tributes and words for the victims, political leaders affirm their resolve to act to protect the people. But after a few days, the news cycle ends and things go back to normal -- until the next terrorist attack.

China’s War on the Bible: If You Can’t Ban it, Alter it

A recent article at WORLD Magazine reported how the Chinese-language app called “WeDevote” recently surpassed 10 million downloads. That number, as well as the overall success of “WeDevote,” is even more remarkable given the back story, one that illustrates Beijing’s ongoing war on the Bible. “WeDevote” is a Bible-reading and devotional app known for its “aesthetically-pleasing” design and respect for copyright laws, a rarity in China. The month after its launch, China’s biggest app store listed WeDevote as a “Recommended App” right on its homepage. The Communist Party’s crackdown on Christianity in recent years meant that both the app and its developers faced increasing government scrutiny. Eventually, they were given a choice: shut down the app or face jail time.

Well, a third option, transferring ownership of the app to a Hong Kong-based company, provided a temporary respite from the ultimatum, but the government has now banned “WeDevote” from Chinese app stores. Though the developers are actively seeking some kind of work-around, it’s a struggle to get the app in the hands of users on the mainland. The government’s shut down of “WeDevote” is part of a disturbing trend. Last year, China banned online Bible sales. Of course, that doesn’t mean Bibles are unavailable in China. Chinese publishers continue to print Chinese-language Bibles. Some are exported, of course, but plenty remain in China. That’s good news. The bad news is that soon, at least spiritually speaking, Chinese-language copies of the Bible may not be worth the paper they’re printed on. According to the Guardian, the Communist Party has plans “for ‘retranslating and annotating’ the Bible,” in order to “establish a ‘correct understanding’ of the text.” Is there any doubt this “correct understanding” will include reinforcing the primacy of the Communist Party? As one pastor told the Guardian, “The Chinese Communist party . . . wants to be the God of China and the Chinese people. But according to the Bible only God is God.” The reality on the ground is that “The government is scared of the churches,” and is cracking down on them.

Any attempt to control and re-write the Bible is a tacit admission by the Communist Party that it’s failing to eradicate Christianity. It’s way too late for that, of course. Depending on who you ask, there are between 60 and 100-plus million Christians in China. Since they cannot eliminate Christianity, the Party’s goal is to pervert it, creating a version of Christianity that doesn’t threaten the Party’s claim of ultimate authority. This demand for sole allegiance not only targets Christians, but other religious minority groups, like the Muslim Uighurs. Anyone who believes that “only God is God” is a threat to the Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping. Such repression also reflects that the Party is concerned about its rule. As many experts have pointed out, China’s stability rests on an implicit bargain: The Party promises economic growth and broad-based prosperity in exchange for the Chinese people giving up the kinds of political freedoms taken for granted in the West. With the Chinese economy slowing down, the demographic legacy of China’s “one-child” policy, the pervasive corruption and the ever-widening chasm between urban “haves” and rural “have nots,” it’s not clear the Party will be able to hold up its end of the bargain. More and more the Party is looking like yet another would-be “god” that has failed its worshipers. We know, given China’s tumultuous history, the sort of bloodshed and chaos that comes from disappointed worshipers there. We also know, given the inherently religious nature of human beings, that such dissatisfaction will only catalyze the growth of the Church and the spread of the Gospel. That means we should pray that God’s Word will prosper in China ... and that God will protect all those who preach it.

Ex-Drug Addict Baptized at Church He Vandalized 6 Months Earlier – ‘God Is Real’

A homeless drug addict who broke into an Arkansas church and vandalized $100,000 worth of property was baptized at the same congregation six months later – all because the staff and church members displayed grace and got him much-needed help. Brenton Winn, 23, was arrested in February after breaking into Central Baptist Church of Conway, Ark., and destroying $100,000 in church property. He threw the soundboard over the worship center balcony. He set part of the family life center on fire. He destroyed laptops. At the time, the church’s senior pastor, Don Chandler, told KTHV it was “about as messy of vandalism as you could possibly imagine.” Winn, who was homeless and high on drugs, faced multiple charges and seemed destined for years behind bars.

But Chandler, while meeting with the prosecutor, chose to extend grace, according to Baptist Press. Chandler wanted Winn to get help. “You can't preach something for 50 years without practicing it, especially in front of your whole church,” Chandler told Baptist Press. “Had we not shown some grace to him, everything we've talked about and encouraged, would have gone by the wayside. It was simply the right thing to do. This was not a hardened criminal. This was a young man who had made some mistakes. He was on drugs and alcohol when he did what he did. But he was redeemable.”

The judge gave Winn an option: Face up to 20 years in prison or voluntarily enter a 12-month rehab and recovery program run by a Christian-based ministry, Renewal Ranch. Winner chose the latter, Baptist Press reported. Winn had been doing methamphetamines and other drugs, off and on, since age 14. “Before I knew it, I had a full-blown drug addiction,” Winn told Baptist Press. “From the time I was 16 until a few months ago, my life was nothing but chaos, suicide attempts and brokenness.” Winn accepted Christ at one of the Renewal Ranch Bible studies. In August – six months after his crime – he was baptized at Central Baptist Church, the same congregation he tried to destroy.

“As I'm starting to understand how God works, I've realized I didn't pick the church that night. God picked me,” Winn told Baptist Press. “If it had been any other church, I think I'd be sitting in prison right now.” He added, “I used to think it was a coincidence [that I chose to break into the church that night], but now I call it confirmation that God is real, and He answers prayers. What was weighing on my heart was that I needed a relationship with Jesus Christ.”