Re: France Actively Surveiling 4,000 of its Citizens.. Oh boy..
Reasonable point!
I was thinking about the French and their open acceptance of freedom.
I think the political pendulum could swing quickly.
Islam is accepted as a religion, and many countries allow religious freedom.
Islam is much more than a religion, it is a complete political ideology,
that if followed in extreme, is vary contrary to western ideas of freedom.
Could France, for example treat Muslims the way that Saudi Arabia treats Christians?
That is true, Islam as institution(s) are actually political ideology disguised as religion.
I don't know if what I am saying now is right, but in my point of view France and any other government that respect freedom (as well as" equality and fraternity") has to be intolerant to any threat to freedom itself, for the freedom sake (yes, it is a paradox).
So if countries like France threat people in an exclusion manner because of their religion, I believe it would make it worst because those who are not radicalized yet will have the tendency to become. On the other hand, if people and government become intolerant to any speak, demonstration, teaching, political or ideological idea based on disrespect of others religion, freedom, democracy, equality, etc, doesn't matter if coming from a Islamic, Nazi, Communist, Alt-right populist, etc... than Islamic people would have less tendency to become radicalized, because they are accept by just being Islamic and will not be accepted by being segregating.
What I see today are many Islamic institution demonstration and campaign shouting out loud they want cover all women, end with democracy, forbid every one to drink, and so on, with people and government giving them the right to make such campaign just "because it is their religion", and if not given them the right to make such campaign we will be accused of being against their religion.
So this distinction has to be made. And such distinction will not be made by the public openly talking because they are also influenced by their ideological orientation, from institutions trying to obtain power through people fears (not as violent as ISIS but the same principle no matter the strand). What I think is that the government has to just impose such distinction and work based on it, for its society freedom sake.
When people are afraid they will end with freedom if the government let them (Stalinism, Nazism, Recently what we see in Turkey, etc).
France, Italy and Spain have lived with Islamic people in their society for hundreds of years. The fact is that even when the government made any religion other than Catholicism (or Christianism) forbidden, Islamic families, Jewish families, and other faiths families would practice their religion hidden in their home but once outside showing to be a good citizen like any other, they are accepted by their society even when their neighbors suspect or know they are not Catholic. They all agree to just pretend. Because at the end what all we want is to feel integrated in our community, accepted as everyone else and feel to have a identity, a sense of belonging, which is a path to a meaningful life. And if they have that thair religion or any kind of faith are just an old tradition, that we shape according to where we belong, instead of trying to shape society to an ideological faith as attempting to feel belonging to it.
