France Accuses Domestic Islamists of Training for Violence
French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said on Monday he had ordered a domestic Islamist group to disband, accusing it of training its members for "armed struggle".
Speaking on a visit to Mantes-la-Jolie in northwestern France, Gueant said: "It is unacceptable in our country that groups train people for armed struggle, for any opportunity for anti-establishment terrorism to present itself."
A spokesman for the group, known as Forsane Alizza or "the Knights of Pride", denied any involvement in violence, and accused the minister of justifying his order through "pure slander and defamation".
The official Forsane Alizza website urges supporters to attend a series of meetings planned in eight major French cities on Wednesday this week to recruit people "with all skills, but especially soldiers".
"In effect we have, thanks to God, brothers and sisters with all sorts of skills in our ranks and it is more brothers on the ground that we need this time," the message explained.
"So if you enjoy martial arts and can turn up quickly when we call on you, then your profile is what we are looking for, if God wills it," continues the site, which any web-user can view and is not encrypted.
Written in French and Arabic, the site describes its goals as: "Prayer for Allah, prayer for monotheism, prayer for jihad and prayer for the caliphate."
"We reject the entire 'democratic' system. It is out of the question to support anyone of any kind that stands in any election. We support our brother mujahedeen wherever they are in the world," the site declares.
The Forsane Alizza spokesman, Mohammed Achamlane, confirmed to Agence France Presse that he had received an order from the interior ministry demanding that his movement be dissolved and giving him 10 days to respond.
He denied that the use of the term "soldiers" for recruits was a sign of violent intent, said: "The word 'soldier' is also used by singers. It doesn't automatically mean an armed soldier in a military uniform."
Forsane Alizza is thought to be a small group but it has a history of public protest. In July 2010 a group of masked militants demonstrated outside a French branch of fast food chain McDonald's, accusing it of backing Israel.
Achamlane has received suspended prison terms for his role in some protests and in promoting the group online. Last year, he publicly burned a copy of the French penal code in protest at a law banning full-face Islamic veils.
Source: Agence France Presse
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