Muslim Rioters in France Turned Protests Into Chaos

Islamic Slogans and Looting Poisoned France’s Protests

Goran Halabjai | Exclusive to iKurd.net
Translate by iKurd.net from Kurdish Awene.

Events in France and a Few Observations

Over the past few days, many cities across Europe, especially in France, have experienced unrest, and widespread protests have disrupted the peace in those cities. Thousands of students, wage earners, small business owners, and ordinary citizens took to the streets to protest.

As I mentioned, these protests were organized by students, teachers, and wage earners. The reasons included the rising cost of education, cuts to workers’ wages, rising prices, and a declining ability to save money.

In such circumstances, these groups have a legitimate right to make the authorities aware of their difficult living conditions and to pursue some of their demands. They can use peaceful and civil methods to express their dissatisfaction, including holding demonstrations.

It is true that protests in developed countries do not always end as the organizers planned. Often, groups of troublemaking young people infiltrate the protests. By using slogans that have little to do with the protesters’ actual demands, they change the nature of the protest and lead it in the wrong direction.

The motives of these troublemakers fall into two main categories. First, they may be opponents of the groups organizing the protests, whether those groups are political or nonpolitical.

The second possibility is that they are acting on behalf of the authorities to discredit the groups or individuals who organized the demonstrations and thereby undermine the purpose and goals of the protests.

What happened in France and Italy was different. The difference was that these “troublemakers” came from an environment in which civic and democratic action was not valued. I would say that the vast majority of these young people involved in looting were not trying to express dissatisfaction, nor did they sympathize with the protesters. Instead, they saw the situation as an opportunity to loot and chant Islamic slogans.

You may have noticed that, in many places, some young Muslim men shouted “Allahu Akbar” or held copies of the Quran while chanting Islamic slogans. They went so far as to call for Islamic law, or Sharia, to be implemented in that country.

I am not saying that all the looters were Muslim. Undoubtedly, ethnic French people were also among them, but they made up a very small proportion. By looking closely at their facial features, one could identify which ethnic groups they belonged to.

Emmanuel Macron had been waiting for an opportunity to reveal his hostility toward the left. He quickly accused young French leftists of trying to overthrow the French government through looting and violence.

Going forward, it is important for any group organizing a protest to be aware of these troublemakers. Otherwise, instead of achieving its goals, the group may end up being blamed for the unrest.

Those young Muslims must also understand that they will gain nothing through unrest, looting, and chanting Islamic slogans. Instead, they may face prison sentences or be deported to the countries they came from.

Therefore, they should respect the laws, constitutions, and cultures of the countries that have opened their doors to them and given them a better life, a life they might only have dreamed of in their own countries, rather than actually experienced.

Goran Halabjai is a senior Kurdish writer, commentator, and social media figure known for his outspoken and critical views on Kurdish political authorities and Islamic fundamentalism. Halabjai’s FB.

This article was originally published in the Kurdish language in Awene Newspaper on October 26, 2026.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of iKurd.net or its editorial team.

Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.

Related posts:

Business with ISIS – Updated The Resurrection (Ba’ath) Party – Before the Iran-Iraq War Sabotaging Syria Syria: The Hijacking of the Arab Spring: From ISIS to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Iraq: Revenge and Corruption The Rape of Raqqa and How It Became the ISIS Capital Iraq in the Shadow of Khomeinism – Part I: Baghdad And Erbil Under Threat Iraq in the Shadow of Khomeinism – Part III: Iraq is NOT Iran! Hostages to Jihad – Austin Tice, The Long Missing American in Syria – Part One Syria: Revisiting The Caesar Torture Victim Photographs