France--- on the Brink of a Muslim Revolution?

(KRT) PARIS 

A group of rap musicians faces an unusual showdown with the government
over lyrics that officials say threaten French police and sympathize
with Palestinian suicide bombers.

Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy, who last year introduced a law
that made insulting a police officer a crime punishable by two years
in jail, announced that he would bring charges against the Parisian
rap group Sniper for tunes that he says are anti-Semitic, racist and
insulting.

"Those who do not respect the rules of the Republic … will be
taken to court," Sarkozy told France's parliament last week.

Sniper, made up of three Parisians of North African origin and a
fourth from Reunion, a French island off the coast of Madagascar,
denied that their music had anything to do with anti-Semitism or
racism.

"Music in general, ours in particular, is composed of strong images
… (and) is not to be taken at face value," the group said in a
statement.

The crackdown on the lyrics comes at a time of growing concern about
France's failure to integrate its large North African immigrant
communities, and a rise in anti-Semitic incidents blamed on anger
among French Muslims over Israel's harsh treatment of Palestinians.

After an attack on a Jewish school annex on Saturday, French President
Jacques Chirac this week established a commission to investigate the
"new anti-Semitism" that analysts attribute to the growing alienation
of Europe's largest Muslim population. No one was hurt in the attack
and no suspects have been arrested.

Impoverished, unemployed and victimized by discrimination, many in
these immigrant communities feel deeply hostile to French society. The
young rappers, whose music catches the angry edge of their American
counterparts, say their lyrics merely reflect life in the banlieues -
the grim housing projects that ring France's urban centers - and the
reality of the Muslim political consciousness in Europe.

"What would do if they killed your father and destroyed your house?"
asks the lyric of the song entitled "Stone Thrower."

"Palestinians in streets/Israelis in the buses. 

"Evil for evil/Avenge your own. 

"To blow yourself up is resistance." 

"The song is not inciting young people to violence," said Clovis
Carime, a rap enthusiast who works in a Paris music store. "The
musicians don't take sides in the song. They are reflecting what's
happening in Israel - at least that's the way young people here see
it."

"Stone Thrower" is from Sniper's second CD, which has sold more than
250,000 copies on Warner Music's East West label, a huge number by
French standards.

For weeks, Sniper's concerts have been dogged by protesters from
far-right nationalist groups. A number of performances have been
canceled. But in the tight world of rap music, where American artists
have long been the trend-setters, running afoul of the establishment
is considered a marketing asset.
Sarkozy, the interior minister, first came to national prominence last
year when he introduced a series of tough measures aimed at youths in
the housing projects.

In addition to the law that made it a crime to insult a police
officer, another law carried a two-month jail sentence for loitering
in the communal areas of the housing projects.

Civil rights activists accused Sarkozy of "criminalizing the poor" but
opinion polls showed that his crackdown enjoyed broad public support.

In addition to the commission on anti-Semitism, the government this
week also announced a five-year plan to rejuvenate 160 of France's
most impoverished housing projects.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the aim was to "smash the
ghettos" of social deprivation where most of France's immigrants live.