Here's A Timeline Of Events That Have Taken Place After The Teacher's Beheading In France
47-year-old Samuel Paty was beheaded near the Paris school on October 16 where he worked, after showing cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammad published by the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine to students during a civics class. In response,the French government's general crackdown on radical Islamism, rapid and tough - a blizzard of inquiries, closures, plans and proposals. The government even ordered closure of a mosque for six months aimed at "sending a message".?This was followed by massive protests by the Muslim community across the world calling for boycott of French products.?
Nothing on this scale happened after other attacks on President Macron's watch, despite the violent murder of some 20 people during his tenure, among them police officers, a young woman at a train station and shoppers in a Christmas market. So what's different now???
Why France took the crackdown call on radical Islam?
J¨¦r?me Fourquet is a political analyst and a director of the IFOP polling agency. He believes that this attack was different, both in targeting a teacher and in its brutality, and that there has been a "shift in gear" within government.
"We are no longer dealing with organised jihadist networks," he said, "but a terrorist who came from our own country, an isolated individual who was radicalised.
"The government believes the response cannot only be about law enforcement. They also need to manage social networks and associations, because this tragic case shed light on a whole network which spreads hate speeches within the population. The system needs changing."?He believes the government is right to challenge what he says are ideological threats to the Republic's laws, alongside security threats.
What is French secularism?
France is a secular country; Europe is a secular entity. An entity where people fought not to include the 'Christian roots' of Europe in any declaration where 'secular' means that for the State there are no Christians, Muslims, Jews or Buddhists or whatever else, but only citizens. And those citizens are expected to abide by the Constitution and the law ¨C and where they are bound by the same rules.
If you are asking for special treatment because of your religion, you have got it totally wrong, reports a local French daily. ¡°My dear countrymen, the battle for the Republic is, in this moment, the battle for secularism¡± ¨C this is how the Macron addressed the country at the beginning of September, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Third French Republic.
What happened on Friday, the October 16 attack??
18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdoulakh attacked teacher Samuel Paty near a Paris school and cut his throat before posting a graphic claim of responsibility on social media. He was targeted after he showed caricatures of Prophet Muhammed in a class. Witnesses are said to have heard the attacker shout "Allahu Akbar", or "God is Greatest". Police fatally shot the attacker after he allegedly acted threateningly and did not respond to commands to disarm, authorities said.?
Timeline of events
Oct 17
French President Emmanuel Macron call the incident an ¡°Islamist attack¡±, urging citizens to stand up against extremism.
Oct 18
Huge crowds gathered and rallied across France in support of the slain teacher. Attendees at demonstrations carried signs reading "I am Samuel" and "I am a teacher," according to the BBC.?
Oct 19?
Four school pupils who may have helped identify Paty to his killer in exchange for payment have been detained, a judicial source told the AFP news agency. A total of 15 people taken into custody including killer's grandfather, parents, 17-year-old brother and father of a pupil who reportedly launched an online campaign against?
Oct 20
French police raided dozens of suspected Islamist groups and individuals accused of extremism. French interior minister, G¨¦rard Darmanin said the raids, authorised by a judge, were aimed at ¡°sending a message¡± and told Lib¨¦ration the searches had uncovered ¡°weapons and videos of decapitations¡±.
French authorities order the closure of a mosque for six months in northeastern Paris as part of a crackdown on radical Islam. The Grand Mosque of Pantin had shared a video on its Facebook page days before the murder, denouncing the teacher's use of the cartoons.?
Oct 26?
Muslims in the Middle East and across other parts of the world including Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan among many others broaden their calls for boycotts of French products to protest against the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.?
Oct 28?
Meanwhile, Indian Muslim body condemns the Paris beheading of the teacher, says Islam does not allow killing people. Activists and intellectuals organise a webinar, demand abolition of apostasy and blasphemy laws.??
