Attacks in Paris

They closed the Andrew Marr show with the French National Anthem (can't spell it I'm afraid; I learned my French from an HP sauce bottle!) this morning. I can't have been the only one who had tears in her eyes.

I was interested to hear that, of 700 people who had gone to Syria to join IS, 400 have been allowed to come back here. Big mistake IMHO. They may all be pleading that it was all a big mistake, but I hope someone's watching them.

I would like to make it clear that when I said, "bomb the lot of them", I was of course, referring to fighters. Not ordinary people in the region. Just in case anyone thought otherwise. Which is quite likely on Gransnet.

Egypt's Grand Mufti, an influential religious scholar within Sunni Islam, has denounced Friday's attacks.

"This attack is shocking, and offends the conscience of every sane person, regardless of their religious identity. I wish to stress categorically and unequivocally our complete solidarity and unwavering support for the French people in their plight and their determination to combat terror.

"Terrorist groups flagrantly use religion as a cloak to cover up for their cowardly acts of violence. Their ideological fallacy reveal their warped logic and ill-informed and unauthentic sources which they turn to in order to derive their justification for their insatiable desire for power, control and bloodshed. These ideologies of hate and terror must be challenged and rooted out."

Police identify first gunman and make several arrests as hunt for terrorists widens across Europe

I wonder whether consideration for the fact that there is a possible vote for going into Syria stays the terrorists hands here in the UK?

Possibly an attack in London along the Parisian line would almost certainly ensure a vote by parliament to bomb IS.

Don't anyone dare to hint racism.Our family,as I've already told you,is made up of many different creeds.Most born here.All integrated.

I watched the news today and I was very sad, I have never been to Paris but would love to go I see it as a beautiful multi cultural city and have never associated it with violence or terror. Last January was an exception. Now I wonder will Britain be next, there was a bomb in Gatwick last night, closing one of the terminals. It is coming closer. It is scary

They should never have allowed mass immigration.This could be only the beginning.Nobody should fear being shot or blown up in their own country.Governments must get tough,look after the innocent.That French man hit the nail on the head," if anybody doesn't like Europe and our way of life,then go home".

I weep for Paris the same way as I weep for Syria, Lebanon, Africa - anywhere that has suffered or is suffering from these attacks. Paris has hit hard because it's so close to home, but appallingly, we seem to have grown inured to the daily slaughter elsewhere. Granjura I am quietly with you - we are a mixed family with a fair number of Muslims, and I'll leave it there, suffice to say I hold my heart tight, otherwise it would break for them.

Interested to read that many in IS are Saddam Hussein's followers. Something else we got wrong.

This is a really good article.

Why on earth would terrorists leave passports behind unless it was a deliberate act to suit their evil ends? This article expands on this and explains why ISIS does not want Europe to help the poor Syrians trying to flee from them.
t.co/063niqhVMR

I think it's important to remember that IS attacks both Muslim and non-Muslims. So many lost their lives or were injured in Paris, I am sure we will find some of the the victims were Muslim, just as with previous terrorist attacks. These terrorists are ^ 'jihadists who adhere to an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and consider themselves the only true believers. They hold that the rest of the world is made up of unbelievers who seek to destroy Islam, justifying attacks against other Muslims and non-Muslims alike.'^ (from BBC website).

There is prostitution in many countries ( where the religion is mainly Muslim as well.)What the extremists really hate is the fact that Western countries live so well.They may have lots of warped ideas, but they also want expensive watches, mobiles and other material things, you will find that the 'top dogs' in ISIS do very well for themselves.Needless to say they enjoy power.
Harder to police their borders for the French authorities than for us, but the French will now have to really up security.I think that our security is very good, but crazies willing to blow themselves up are always a possibility.
I certainly agree with Alea that this thread was started in shock at the Paris atrocities, and shouldn't be used as a springboard for ' every death in the world counts the same' stuff. Actually it doesn't, btw, because I would happily see every ISIS member dead.

I think that one of fights that the Islamist extremists have with us is our culture and in particular the Western way of life. The notice posted by them on the internet talks of prostitution etc.
This feeds into those who become radicalised and we can see it in the uptake of the veil and such throughout the Islamic community, something not nearly so widespread when we were younger, in fact the only women who were completely covered were largely tourists. Now however it seems to me that they are often used as symbols to show a rejection of Western enlightenment and ideas.

jingle said "bomb the lot of them. Indiscriminately ... we can't single out the good from the bad", and others expressed similar sentiments, including "bollocks to the do-gooders". It was further implied that the Koran is somehow responsible for these murderous acts.

These sorts of comments surely demonstrates that the thread had already drifted away from expressing horror and sadness at this terrible event. Why then are certain subsequent posts addressing points already raised described as being "inappropriate"?

A commentator on the BBC News Press Preview has also expressed some suspicion about the Syrian passport that was alleged to be found near one of the bodies.

Tonight is the 75th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz and hundreds of people have taken part in a ceremony to mark the occasion. A chain of people passed a light to each other, finishing at the cathedral. As part of the annual Peace Festival in the city, the cathedral was lit up in blue, white and red to mark Friday's attacks in Paris.I wish I had known about the ceremony because I would have liked to honour the dead of both tragedies.

rosesarered I didn't know that about items surviving an explosion, but thinking about it, that's what happens when a plane crashes. My mind had been on how identification of those inside the auditorium would be possible. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about what the families of the victims must be going through.

More survivors are sharing their experience and I'm not going to read any more. I am not sure how some of them can ever get over what happened. One person said he doesn't feel lucky, but guilty at being unable to help the people who were hurt or killed.

So true merlotgran

Isis attack by design to incite Islamophobia and to create a larger group of the Islamic community who wish to follow their ideology. While the attacks in France and other areas around the world are horrific, do not pin down an entire religion on the grounds that a small minority of them has committed a serious atrocity. Not all Christians are IRA, not all Muslims are ISIS.

This from my DGS (written on his facebook page this morning) who spent the first seven years of his life growing up in Northern Ireland.

Please don't let this turn into an "I know more than you" argumentative thread.

That's all.

I have read the whole thread Alea, surely if a post is inappropriate the moderators would remove it, what may be innapproptiate to you and some others may be considered appropriate to others posting on this thread ?

I believe so , and surely not referring to a post you and some others find innapproptiate is a far more fair and balanced way than correcting a poster for posting their views and opinions , everyone is deeply shocked and saddened by the killings, how they choose to express this is for each poster to decide , not a board patrol

Nobody said you had mentioned all of these, but if you read through the whole thread there have been attempts to move the discussion in a different direction which I and others felt inappropriate.

Alea, I can read, perhaps you can explain why saying there are innocent people being killed in other countries is connected to white supremacy , right or left wings politics or theology ?