Regards, Ivan
Posted on 08/06/2004 1:37:20 AM PDT by MadIvan
Behind the heavy wooden door of her 10th-floor flat, Amel Benchellali agrees that her mother, her father and her three brothers are in prison on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
But Miss Benchellali, 26, claims they are innocent. Even her brother Menad, who admits that he travelled to Georgia, vainly hoping to join Chechen Muslims fighting the Russians, has committed no crime in her eyes.
"I don't know why they have picked on my family," she said.
"I don't believe Menad was planning to do anything outside Chechnya. But even if he had done something wrong, that would be no reason to make his whole family, including his poor, sick mother, pay."
Arabic books and CDs line shelves in the small living room of the flat, in a tower block on a boulevard named after Lenin at Les Minguettes, a clean but charmless estate in Venissieux on the outskirts of Lyons.
French anti-terrorist police say the flat was used to store ingredients of chemical weapons that Menad, fresh from his experiences on the Georgian-Chechen border, was allegedly experimenting on. The accusations against Menad, 31, and the investigators' suspicion that others in the family knew what was going on, have added to growing alarm about the activities of a minority of France's six million Muslims.
From estates such as Les Minguettes, the Beurs - immigrants of North African origin - marched in the 1980s to demand equality within the French society in which they were struggling to make new lives.
In the same districts now, many young Arabs want little to do with that society, turning instead to the heady lure of radical Islam and anti-western rhetoric.
No one familiar with the grimmer estates of Britain would find Les Minguettes especially bleak. There is plenty of green - Venissieux has an outstanding record in France's equivalent of the Britain in Bloom contest - and sports facilities abound, but attitudes towards outsiders are mixed.
The Telegraph was initially treated with caution but no trace of menace. When our presence later began to cause offence, insults and stones were hurled by bored, jobless young men loitering in the shade.
Whatever the truth about the Benchellalis - now the estate's best-known residents - they are hardly a commonplace family.
The family's Algerian-born father, Chellali, 60, is a self-styled imam known for his fiery oratory at prayer meetings in a ground-floor room of the tower block. As his own devotion - and hardline look - grew, he led his previously non-practising wife, Hafsa, 50, into religion.
Of the sons, Menad is widely regarded as the most militant. He was arrested in Paris in 2000 as part of an operation to smash alleged plans to attack Russian interests in France on behalf of the Chechen rebels.
His youngest brother, Mourad, 23, was among four French Muslims repatriated from Guantanamo Bay last week.
Unlike returning British detainees, briefly questioned before being freed into the arms of tabloid newspapers willing to pay for their accounts of ill-treatment, Mourad and his companions were thrown into jail, suspected of associating with terrorists.
The third brother, Hafed, 27, was detained with his parents in January when the flat at Les Minguettes was raided. Nicolas Sarkozy, then French interior minister, told parliament that the arrests had produced evidence that a chemical attack in France had been planned.
Amel Benchellali had a turbulent school career, punctuated by clashes with authority over her desire to wear the veil. In the eight years since she left school, she has had only one job. It lasted three months. "No one will employ me because of my veil," she said.
From the living room she points to a neighbouring block where the family of Nizar Sassi, 23, a friend of her brother and another of the Guantanamo Bay four, lives. Both men travelled to Afghanistan in 2001 and allegedly joined the Taliban to fight the western coalition.
Sassi's friends express disbelief that he could be implicated in terrorism. "He's a typical young man who loves football, nice clothes, cars and girls," said a young woman serving in a shop.
"He and Mourad were just on holiday, exploring the world," added Tarek Otman, who runs a support group for the men, when asked about the Afghan adventure that landed them in Guantanamo Bay he replied: "They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Back in the Benchellalis' flat, Miss Benchellali spreads letters from Guantanamo Bay on a low table. Despite her brother's return to France, they represent the only contact she has had in two and a half years.
She says she fears for her mother, suffering from hypertension and diabetes, and for the future of multi-culturalism in the country of her birth. "I don't want to impose my faith on France," she said.
"I want to live in peace, respect my neighbours and be respected by them."
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
this is exactly the same as the Norwegians who let the iraqi islamic nutjobs leader live there. his brother said they were for peace and friendship but a few weeks later he is killed by US forces fighting in falluja...
obviously ;) the US forces mistook the flower in his hand for an ak47...terrible that US forces appear to so frequently mistake flowers for ak47's and rpg's in falluja ..
/sarcasm
Situation in Chechnya isn't so simple.
Not just another case of murdering mooselimbs trying to take power?
Ivan,
I clicked your link. Brilliant essay on Cheney. Thanks.
That speaks volumes about France.
It does, but, the French have deported hundreds of Mohammedan Imans.
The US, on the other hand, invites them over to the White House to break Ramadan fasts...
It's upset a lot of left wingers - but so far, no coherent replies. ;)
Glad you enjoyed it.
Regards, Ivan
Just wait, eventually America is gonna get a pissed off freeper as prez who wants revenge. If it were me the bombs and nukes would fly over the entire muslim world.
"Result? 2 terrorists and 200 civilians killed."
Highly immoral and not smart. Unless they plan to kill all of them, they've doubtless made a lot of blood enemies by killing the innocent.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.