Paris Burning Part Two: The Arab Perspective

COMMENTARY
In an earlier post, Is Paris Burning? News Marginalizing the Rioters, I pointed out the failure of the mainstream media to address the underlying causes of the riots in France. While there are plenty of cases where the culture of Islam is at direct (and often mortally violent) odds with the west, the problem in France has as much to do with French culture as it does with Islam.

This afternoon an Associated Press story addressed the Muslim issues. When reading the story, note the name on the by-line.

NEWSLINE
"There are no puzzles here. The core problem is mass degradation and alienation manifesting themselves in ... belts of educated, usually unemployed, young men throughout Arab and Asian urban areas; and in parallel urban zones of mass disenfranchisement and marginalization." Lebanon Daily Star

NEWSBYTE
Arabs Blame French Society, Discrimination
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- France's riots have set off a round of troubled debate across the Arab world: Most here blame a failure to offer opportunity to immigrants, but others see a more ominous clash of cultures over Islam.

Across the Middle East, the images of burning cars and stone-throwing young people have dominated newspapers and television. Analysts have hotly debated the riots' meaning, their cause and whether they might spread. Read full story.

TENSION: Hot
GRAVITY: If thousands of cars were burned in the US, heads would surely roll

Tags: News, Paris, Paris riots

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