Tehrik-e-Labaik Islamist Party in Pakistan Lionises the Murderer of Glasgow Shopkeeper, Asad Shah

The murder of Asad Shah, the Glasgow based shopkeeper was a brutal affair. We know this, partly because the spiritual leader of the Islamist group Tehrik-e-Labaik, Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi, described in detail the actions that the convicted murderer, Tanveer Ahmed, undertook on the defenceless Shah.

The description of the murder of Asad Shah was not made in dusgust by Hussain Rizvi, the spiritual leader of the Islamist group in Pakistan. Yet, it was made in a manner which lionised the murderer, calling him a ‘Ghazi’ or warrior for the defence of Islam.

In September of this year, the Islamist party won over 7,000 votes in a local election and the Party was born from lionising another convicted murderer, Mumtaz Qadri. Qadri was the bodyguard of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, who subsequently went onto murder him at an Islamabad market in January 2011. Taseer was an outspoken critic of the country’s Blasphemy Laws and he had defended the rights of Christian minorities and individuals like Asia Bibi. Out of this brutal murder was born the Tehrik-e-Labaik Islamist party which has also acquired recorded phone conversations with Tanveer Ahmed, from Barlinnie prison in Scotland. Ahmed’s ‘messages’ to people in Pakistan have been played to Tehrik-e-Labaik audiences in the country who sit around their spiritual leader Hussain Rizvi. Rizvi has used the audio-tapes to whip up his audiences into frenzies, using deeply emotive language around the defence of Prophet Muhammad, whilst urging listeners to defend their faith. This has been code for the use of threats and violence.

The recorded phone conversations are used to whip up audiences into a frenzy around Hussain Rizvi who regularly has made a point of lionising Tanveer Ahmed,  now in Barlinnie prison. The main theme for Tehrik-e-Labaik has been the ‘defence’ of Islam and the vilification of those who ‘blaspheme’ against Islam, yet it is so easy to forget the brutal actions of people like Ahmed in this extremist charade which is being played out in Pakistan. It is important to reflect on the comments of Judge Lady Rae who presided over the murder trial of Tanveer Ahmed.

Summing up after the guilty verdict of Ahmed, Judge Lady Rae told him:

“This was a barbaric, premeditated and wholly unjustified killing of a much loved man who was a pillar of the local community.”

“He, (Asad Shah), was described as a peaceful and peace-loving man and family man who went out of his way to show respect for those of any faith.”

The Judge went onto describe the actions of Ahmed as being,

“an appalling display of merciless violence”.

Campaigning Using the Imagery of Murderers and Extremists

The use of imagery depicting Qadri and Ahmed demonstrates a chilling new twist in Pakistani politics with mobs of young men openly stating that blasphemers against Islam should be targeted for violence. Tehrik-e-Labaik’s footsoldiers are mainly young men brought up in their madrassas and whose only access to basic shelter, food and welfare comes from their networks on the ground. Yet, the link to the United Kingdom and the lionising of an extremist murderer who drove from Bradford to Glasgow to brutally murder a man just because he disagreed with his religious views, shows how such groups in Pakistan are trying to promote their extremism to British born young men of Pakistani heritage. Tehrik-e-Labaik’s You Tube videos are still available on the channel and their Facebook page regularly pumps out sermons from Hussain Rizvi which support violence against ‘blasphemers’. The promotion of such extremist material, aimed at Pakistani and British audiences of Pakistani heritage is deeply worrying. This international arc supporting the promotion of extremism needs to be countered and electronic disruption action taken to stop this group from pumping out such material.

Finally, the picture associated with this article is a good indicator of the extremism link to this group. Reuters recently interviewed Muhammad Shafiq Ameeni, a candidate and member of the Tehrik-e-Labaik party in Pakistan. The interview took place in Peshawar and behind Ameeni, were the images of two murderers, namely Mumtaz Qadri and Tanveer Ahmed. So the point is this. Would you consider supporting a party that lionises and campaigns using the imagery of convicted murderers? The answer should be no, but for 7,000 local individuals in Pakistan who voted for this Islamist group, they clearly thought to the contrary. It seems that the lionising of convicted murderers pays dividends in Pakistan.

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Categories: Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi, Asad Shah, Glasgow, Mumtaz Qadri, News, Opinions, Pakistan, Salman Taseer, Tanveer Ahmed, Tehrik-e-Labaik

How Could Bob Blackman MP Host an Anti-Muslim Extremist in Parliament?

Serious questions have to be asked! In today’s world, due diligence around people, organisations and what they have previously said, are the norm, to ensure that extremists have no platform or legitimisation in the eyes of the public. Yet, on October 18th in Committee Room 12, Bob Blackman hosted Tapan Ghosh, a well-known anti-Muslim extremist in the mother of democratic structures.

How Bob Blackman hosted and thereby validated Mr Ghosh, is yet to be looked into, though what makes matters even more unpalatable, is that Blackman is a member of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) committee. One of the functions of DCLG is to ensure the integration of communities and to ensure that British values of tolerance are protected, maintained and built upon. How Blackman, who sits on this Committee, could not be aware of Ghosh’s anti-Muslim hatred, is deeply concerning. For example, Ghosh has spoken about controlling the birth rate of Muslims, praised the genocide of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and even suggested that Muslims should be forced to leave their religion if they come to a western country. Simply put, would the latter view then apply to other faiths or just to Muslims? It is pretty clear that Mr Ghosh was the ‘intolerant’ in an event called, ‘Tolerating the Intolerant’.

Mr Ghosh’s militancy based on his skewed views of Muslims also extended to the creation of a ‘Hindu Defence Force’ which he allegedly set up in response to ‘Muslim violence’. In a Twitter post that the Times reported on, Ghosh even stated that,

“Backwardness is the most powerful ‘weapon’ of Islam. Rohingyas are glaring example.”

This is who Bob Blackman MP hosted and in doing so,  legitimised.

What Do We Call For?

We are calling for the following:

  • That Parliament’s Sergeant-at-Arms open up a formal investigation into how Ghosh came to be in Parliament and that some serious questions be asked of Bob Blackman MP. The investigation should then be published as a learning tool for other MP’s.
  • That Blackman be removed from the DCLG Committee that he sits on, until he can explain his actions and apologise for hosting an anti-Muslim extremist in our country’s Parliament.
  • That all MP’s and their offices receive a notice from the Sergeant-at-Arms regarding undertaking due diligence checks on speakers whom they invite in.
  • That Blackman contact us and meet with a Rohingya refugee, to listen first hand at the appalling genocide that has been conducted against this defenceless people by Burma’s military junta, which itself has been legitimised by Aung Saan Su Kyi.

We leave you with this thought. Just imagine if an Islamist extremist had been hosted in Parliament by an MP. Today’s newspapers would, rightly, splash the story all over their front pages. Exactly how is this different?

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Categories: anti-Muslim extremist, Bob Blackman MP, Hindu, Muslim, Myanmar, News, Opinions, Parliament, Rohingya, Tapan Ghosh

Sickening Shia Hatred in Blackburn Cemetery – A Sign of Sectarian Extremism

We received the following report of an attack on Shia gravestones in the Pleasington Cemetery in Blackburn. The desecration of Shia gravestones in a cemetery where other Muslim headstones were not touched, shows anti-Shia hatred, which is an indicator of sectarian extremism.

Anti-Shia sectarian hate cases have been recorded by Tell MAMA since 2013 and form a small but consistent pattern of intra-Muslim hatred and we have also picked up anti-Ahmaddiya targeted hatred over the last 3 years. In this instance, the desecration of headstones relating to Shia individuals who have passed away, should set of alarm bells that the perpetrator may well be consuming material that is extreme in nature.

We will continue to monitor this situation and if you come across any such sectarian intra-Muslim hatred, please do not hesitate to report it into us at Tell MAMA.

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Categories: anti-Ahmaddiya, Blackburn, intra-Muslim hatred, News, Pleasington Cemetery, sectarian hatred, Shia Hatred

Hate crime sharply rose in England and Wales after terror attacks

New Home Office data reveals that hate crime in England and Wales have increased by 23 per cent.

With 80,939 offences recorded in 2016/17, compared to 62,518 offences in 2015/16, it’s the largest rise since the Home Office series began in 2011/12.

The bulletin acknowledges a ‘genuine’ rise in hate crimes following the EU referendum and the terrorist attacks in the first half of 2017.

The monthly racially and religiously aggravated offences recorded by police forces peaked at 6,000 in June 2017, following a sustained spike since the Westminster Bridge terror attack on March 22. Hate crime continued to rise after the terror attacks in Manchester, London, and Finsbury Park.

Credit: Provisional police recorded crime, Home Office

This peak in provisional police data from 38 forces is larger than the peak monthly figure of 5,500 hate crimes after the EU referendum.

Source: Provisional police recorded crime, Home Office

Crucially, the Home Office report highlights how non-aggravated equivalent offences did not follow a similar trend, suggesting that the spikes in aggravated offences following the EU referendum and recent terror attacks are indeed genuine.

The bulletin confirms that the spike did decrease days after the suicide bombing in Manchester, but increased again following the terror attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market. A pattern, the Home Office confirms occurred again following the terrorist attack in Finsbury Park.

As with previous data, hate crimes are a disproportionate issue of public order offences and violence against the person, with 89 per cent of incidents in 2016/17 falling into such categorisation.

This latest Home Office bulletin confirms what we previously knew about hate crime following the EU referendum – with offences being 44 per cent higher than the same period in the previous year.

This bulletin does support the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) data published in August, which did show a clear spike hate crimes following the recent terror attacks, but it did add several important caveats, including that the EU referendum result had shifted the baseline statistics, and how the summer months do typically see a rise in hate crime incidents.

In broad terms, race hate was the most commonly recorded hate crime strand. Religious hate crime, however, was the third or fourth highest recorded strand, after sexuality or disability hate crime in 41 forces in England and Wales.

The bulletin shows a rise in all five of the centrally monitored hate crime strands, which factors in improved policing, and the correct flagging of such crimes.

In the year ending March 2017, two per cent of all hate crime offences included an online element, a pattern consistent with non-aggravated crimes. An online element offence occurs when it’s believed that an offence was committed, in full or in part, from an electronic device.

Of that two per cent, race hate remains the largest single category (63 per cent) but makes up 79 per cent of the total hate crime. In contrast, 19 per cent of online hate crime concerns sexual orientation, in data provided by 23 police forces. Hate crimes under this category were overwhelmingly harassment offences.

Despite the rise in hate crime, there remains a concern that prosecutions are dropping, but also an acknowledgment that courts do give tougher sentences for hate crime.

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Categories: Brexit, hate crime, Home Office, News, police data, terrorism

Golders Green Hippodrome Furore Shows Bigotry is Not Far From Any Community

The furore around the Golders Green Hippodrome building which was purchased by a Shia group called the ‘Centre for Islamic Enlightening’ has sadly caused some strains between local communities in North London. Proposed activities in the Centre include seminars, lectures, youth activities and English language classes and the building was bought at auction for over £5 million pounds.

Yet, an e-petition has been drafted that has over 5,600 objections citing parking and noise concerns. These are legitimate concerns that some may hold, but no-one can deny that such a focus on the Centre has drawn in anti-Muslim bigots, some of whom may be local residents in the London Borough of Barnet. For example, petitioners left the following statements on the e-petition:

“don’t want….installation of a mosque – an embassy for Muslims from which they learn hatred and warfare against the infidel”

Further comments showed a bigoted nature towards Muslims as though simply buying a historical centre for an Islamic Shia Centre was ‘provocative’ and as though those who would use the Centre are not fellow citizens who happen to be Muslim.




Jihadist Comments

Some of the comments left on the e-petition show the ignorance of those making them. For example, some comments suggested that the Centre would turn into a den of extremists and others suggested that extremism was being imported into the area, without even considering the fact that violent Jihadist extremism has targeted Shia communities historically. Shia communities have therefore been targeted by Daesh and IS and prior to this group, by Al-Qaeda.

Our call is therefore for the heated rhetoric to change into dialogue with the community group who have purchased the building. They clearly are not going anywhere, nor are local residents and the only way forward is to talk, listen and reconcile a way forward so that concerns are addressed and that the anti-Muslim bigotry of some stop! This issue cannot be used as a staging post for haters to push their hatred into this peaceful and cohesive borough.

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Categories: Barnet Council, Centre for Islamic enlightening, e-petition, Golders Green Hippodrome, News, Opinions, Shia

Anti-Muslim Hatred, Terrorism, Media Sources, Far Right Networks & Spike Points

The recent Independent article highlighted the sharp rise in mosque attacks that have been seen across the country and which Tell MAMA has been systematically documenting for over 4 years now. Attacks on mosques, we have said time and time again, have a wider destructive impact on Muslim communities who use it – with some reading into the attack that they are not wanted or that they are not part of the local community. Such mosque attacks can potentially therefore cause long term impacts on cohesion, the further escalation of hate crimes and in the worst instances, the possibility of further public order offences. Allied to this, all of the data we have, shows that terrorism in particular leads to very large spike points of anti-Muslim hatred and that terrorism is the major driver of incidents and attacks against Muslim communities at specific points when they take place. This basic fact cannot be denied and it also has impacts on cohesion and with the cyclical fuelling of far-right extremism and hatred towards Muslims.

To provide context to the Independent article, it is important to state the following given the fact that there are other issues that drive anti-Muslim sentiment. Terrorism is one, inflammatory media headlines are another and we have seen this when headlines are emblazoned across front pages, only for minute retractions to be printed after IPSO complaints. Such work, (of holding to account stories that are not factually accurate and meant to sell more newspapers or drive more traffic to a web-site), is essential and we salute those who carry out this vital work since it does help to reframe facts from fiction. There are a growing number of activists from Muslim and non-Muslim communities doing this and we value their much-needed work and long may it continue.

We also understand that many people will focus on complaining about inflammatory and inaccurate press headlines, just as we focus on supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred and in monitoring and mapping cases of anti-Muslim hatred across the country. This does not make them Islamists, nor should their work be curtailed since holding to account the powerful is a fundamental plank of a healthy democracy. What is a problem, is when some believe that the media is the only driver of anti-Muslim hatred and who choose to deny or even acknowledge that terrorist attacks create further animosity, tensions and divisions, apart from brutally murdering so many innocent people and scarring families for life.

These deniers may be led by a belief that terrorism is not their responsibility, and that is a position that they can hold. We understand that position though we do not take it, since there is a social responsibility, we believe, in calling out hate. Hate drives terrorism and has huge community impacts and we will always call it out, in all of its forms.

Others truly do not want to talk about terrorism, taking a head in the sand approach, whilst others just deny what is blatantly obvious, in some vain attempt to protect Muslims and Islam, as though not talking about it, might not shine a light on the large spike points that come about because of terrorism and the subsequent targeting of Muslims by bigots. It is the latter position, of believing that the media alone is responsible for anti-Muslim hatred, which is a position that does not hold and which may drive by ideology rather than fact.

Or take those who use any opportunity to create further hatred and division, as though they are the moral guardians of Muslim communities, when the only guardianship we should be considering around hate crime work, are the voices and well-being of victims. They might shout the loudest, but they are doing no justice to real work on the ground in supporting victims and in bringing communities together.

Additionally, it is clear is that the vast majority of anti-Muslim hate incidents are opportunistic in nature and where individuals come across visible Muslims. In many of the cases that we have worked on, language related to terrorist attacks is thrown at visible Muslims, such as “you were responsible for Manchester”. The link between terrorism, opportunism and perpetrator emboldenment are clear. Some of the emboldening of perpetrators may well be due to press articles and comment pieces which blame all Muslims for extremism and terrorism, whilst for others, they may have come across far right extremist material or anti-Muslim rhetoric. Causation factors are many, including terrorism and that is the picture. It is neither one or another, but a combination of factors.

The post Anti-Muslim Hatred, Terrorism, Media Sources, Far Right Networks & Spike Points appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: anti-Muslim hatred, headlines, Media, News, Opinions, terrorism

Anti-Muslim Hatred, Terrorism, Media Sources, Far Right Networks & Spike Points

The recent Independent article highlighted the sharp rise in mosque attacks that have been seen across the country and which Tell MAMA has been systematically documenting for over 4 years now. Attacks on mosques, we have said time and time again, have a wider destructive impact on Muslim communities who use it – with some reading into the attack that they are not wanted or that they are not part of the local community. Such mosque attacks can potentially therefore cause long-term impacts on cohesion, the further escalation of hate crimes and in the worst instances, the possibility of further public order offences. Allied to this, all of the data we have, shows that terrorism in particular leads to very large spike points of anti-Muslim hatred and that terrorism is the major driver of incidents and attacks against Muslim communities at specific points when they take place. This basic fact cannot be denied and it also has impacts on cohesion and with the cyclical fuelling of far-right extremism and hatred towards Muslims.

To provide context to the Independent article, it is important to state the following given the fact that there are other issues that drive anti-Muslim sentiment. Terrorism is one, inflammatory media headlines are another and we have seen this when headlines are emblazoned across front pages, only for minute retractions to be printed after IPSO complaints. Such work, (of holding to account stories that are not factually accurate and meant to sell more newspapers or drive more traffic to a web-site), is essential and we salute those who carry out this vital work since it does help to reframe facts from fiction. There are a growing number of activists from Muslim and non-Muslim communities doing this and we value their much-needed work and long may it continue.

We also understand that many people will focus on complaining about inflammatory and inaccurate press headlines, just as we focus on supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred and in monitoring and mapping cases of anti-Muslim hatred across the country. This does not make them Islamists, nor should their work be curtailed since holding to account the powerful is a fundamental plank of a healthy democracy. What is a problem, is when some believe that the media is the only driver of anti-Muslim hatred and who choose to deny or even acknowledge that terrorist attacks create further animosity, tensions and divisions, apart from brutally murdering so many innocent people and scarring families for life.

These deniers may be led by a belief that terrorism is not their responsibility, and that is a position that they can hold. We understand that position though we do not take it, since there is a social responsibility, we believe, in calling out hate. Hate drives terrorism and has huge community impacts and we will always call it out, in all of its forms.

Others truly do not want to talk about terrorism, taking a head in the sand approach, whilst others just deny what is blatantly obvious, in some vain attempt to protect Muslims and Islam, as though not talking about it, might not shine a light on the large spike points that come about because of terrorism and the subsequent targeting of Muslims by bigots. It is the latter position, of believing that the media alone is responsible for anti-Muslim hatred, which is a position that does not hold and which may drive by ideology rather than fact.

Or take those who use any opportunity to create further hatred and division, as though they are the moral guardians of Muslim communities, when the only guardianship we should be considering around hate crime work, are the voices and well-being of victims. They might shout the loudest, but they are doing no justice to real work on the ground in supporting victims and in bringing communities together.

Additionally, it is clear is that the vast majority of anti-Muslim hate incidents are opportunistic in nature and where individuals come across visible Muslims. In many of the cases that we have worked on, language related to terrorist attacks is thrown at visible Muslims, such as “you were responsible for Manchester”. The link between terrorism, opportunism and perpetrator emboldenment are clear. Some of this emboldening of perpetrators may well be due to press articles and comment pieces which blame all Muslims for extremism and terrorism, whilst for others, they may have come across far right extremist material or anti-Muslim rhetoric. Causation factors are many, including terrorism and that is the picture. It is neither one or another, but a combination of factors.

The post Anti-Muslim Hatred, Terrorism, Media Sources, Far Right Networks & Spike Points appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: anti-Muslim hatred, Far Right groups, far right networks, Hate Crimes, Islamist terrorism, Media, News, press, spikes, terrorism

“Jihadi Gran” gets 10 years after joining son in Syria

 A court on Friday sentenced a radicalised French woman to 10 years in prison after travelling to Syria where her son was fighting alongside Islamic State militants.

Christine Riviere, 51, dubbed by investigators as “Jihadi Gran”, was arrested in 2014 after three trips to Syria, which she said were aimed at spending time with her son in case he was killed.

Announcing the decision, the judge said Riviere had demonstrated “a firm commitment” to Islamic State and had contributed to strengthening the group logistically.

France, like other European nations, is wrestling with how to deal with those returning from the Syrian conflict. A presidency official said last week that half of the 500 children were born there, and in total about 2,000 French nationals or residents had gone to the two countries,

“Instead of trying to disengage your son, it seems on the contrary that you encouraged him,” the judge said.

Investigators believe that Riviere’s son, Tyler Vilus, climbed the Islamic State hierarchy to lead a Francophile group.

Arrested in July 2015 in Turkey and now imprisoned in France, Vilus is suspected of having known members of the network that planned and carried out the November 2015 attacks in Paris in which 130 people were killed.    

The sentencing comes a week after a mother-of-three was found guilty of financing terrorism after she sent money abroad to her radicalised son who later travelled to fight in Syria. She was sentenced to two years in jail.

 

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Categories: Christine Riviere, France, Islamic State, Jihadi Gran, News

Polish Express removes ‘live by the sword’ headline following stabbing of boy near mosque

A Polish newspaper has removed an offensive headline concerning the attempted murder of a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed multiple times outside of a mosque in the Small Heath area of Birmingham.

On September 30, the Polish Express headlined the story, Kto mieczem wojuje, ten od miecza ginie…? In English, it translates as, ‘live by the sword, die by the sword,’ according to the Notes from Poland page on Facebook.

Readers of the newspaper and members of the public condemned the headline, both in Polish and in English, with one reader accusing the newspaper of using ‘cheap’ tabloid tricks, as another remarked about their ‘unprofessional’ conduct.

The official Twitter account of the Polish Express has also removed a tweet with the offending headline, originally posted on September 30.

Twitter user @McChris85 also challenged the newspaper, replying to their now-deleted tweet, ‘Are you seriously comfortable writing this about an innocent child?’ at 5:28 pm on September 30.

Tell MAMA raised the issue with the Polish Express after members of the public had raised their concerns with our staff.

A spokesperson for the newspaper confirmed that the headline was removed and replaced with a more ‘appropriate’ headline.

A screenshot captures how the Polish Express amended its headline following complaints.

The edit history for the initial Facebook post reveals that the Polish Express had altered the Facebook headline in the afternoon of October 2. Following this amendment, the newspaper thanks its readers to the ‘inappropriate,’ agreeing that in the context of the story, the choice of text was offensive.

 

 

 

 

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Categories: Media, mosque, News, Polish Express

Anti-terrorism police hold five over wired explosives found in posh Paris neighbourhood

French counter-terrorism investigators questioned five people on Tuesday after police over the weekend found what appeared to be a ready-to-detonate bomb at an apartment building in one of Paris’s poshest neighbourhoods.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said one of those arrested was on an intelligence services list of “radicalised” persons – a list that includes the names of potential Islamist militants.

“We are still in a state of war,” Collomb, speaking after a Sunday attack in which a knifeman killed two women in Marseille, told France Inter radio.

Judicial sources said the explosive device included two gas canisters inside the building in the affluent 16th district of western Paris and two outside, some of them doused with petrol and wired to connect to a mobile phone.

It was unclear why the device was planted at the location where it was found as there was no obvious target living there, the judicial sources said.

More than 230 people have been killed in France in attacks by Islamist militants over the past three years. The Islamic State militant group, whose bases in Syria and Iraq are being bombed by French war planes, has urged followers to attack France.

Most of those killed died in attacks by Islamist gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris in 2015 and when a man drove a large truck into crowds in the Riviera resort of Nice in 2016.

Since then, there has been a string of attacks perpetrated by lone assailants, often targeting police or soldiers.

“The threat is changing form,” said Collomb.

A counter-terrorism investigation is also under way after the attack on Sunday, where a knifeman slit the throat of one of his victims and killed her cousin before being shot dead by soldiers at a train station in the southern port city.

A separate inquiry has been opened to establish why the man, who had been briefly detained by police the day before in the city of Lyon had been released.

France declared a state of emergency in late 2015 after the Paris attack by gunmen and suicide bombers, giving police special search and arrest powers to combat would-be terrorists.

New legislation was due to be put to a vote in parliament on Tuesday to make many of those emergency measures permanent.

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Categories: Anti-terror, France, Islamist, Jihadi, Marseille, News, Paris, radicalised