Catholicgauze is a geographer who takes a geographer’s interest in the issue of terrorism. Some readers may be aware of the riots in the banlieus of Paris, those areas that would be called the Paris projects by an American English speaker, that raged in late 2005 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Mr. Gauze has an interest in areas like the banlieus, areas that have become separately ruled religious ghettos in a system similar to the confessional system that rules Lebanon. As Lebanon was a French colony this seems typical behavior for France.
He calls these areas Sharia Microstates. I wrote about his abstract in November 2006, and now he’s presented the paper and is looking for publication, so he has slides, with notes.
Some of the most interesting pieces in the presentation are on how these Sharia Microstates spread. They are not simply little standalone ghettos. Via the Internet, they are highly connected outposts of Islamic countries, usually Saudi Arabia, and serve as centers of radicalization and jihadist agitation, as well as fund raising for Wahabbist operations back in the old country.
Wolf Pangloss 