Islamic terrorism

==== France ====
{{See also|November 2015 Paris attacks|Terrorism in France|Islam in France}}
France had its first occurrences with religious extremism in the 1980s due to French involvement in the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. In the 1990s, a series of attacks on French soil were executed by the [[Armed Islamic Group of Algeria]] (GIA).

In the 1990–2010 time span, France experienced repeated attacks linked to international jihadist movements.<ref name="ispi2018">{{Cite book|url=https://www.ispionline.it/sites/default/files/pubblicazioni/mediterraneo_def_web.pdf|title=De-Radicalization in the Mediterranean – Comparing Challenges and Approaches|last=Vidino|display-authors=etal|publisher=ISPI|year=2018|isbn=9788867058198|location=Milano|pages=13–15, 24, 26, 35–36, 42–43, 48, 62–63, 69–70}}</ref> ''[[Le Monde]]'' reported on 26 July 2016 that "Islamist Terrorism" had caused 236 dead in France in the preceding 18-month period.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2016/07/26/le-terrorisme-islamiste-a-fait-236-morts-en-france-en-18-mois_4975000_4355770.html|title=Le terrorisme islamiste a fait 236 morts en France en 18 mois|date=26 July 2016|work=Le Monde|language=fr|quote=De l'attaque de « Charlie Hebdo » et de l'« Hyper casher » en janvier 2015 à la mort du père Jacques Hamel à Saint-Etienne-de-Rouvray, mardi 26 juillet, ce sont 236 personnes qui ont perdu la vie dans des attentats et attaques terroristes|access-date=27 July 2016}}</ref>

In the 2015–2018 timespan in France, 249 people were killed and 928 wounded in a total of 22 terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/national-today-newsletter-terrorism-implant-registry-rice-1.4939071|title=By the numbers: France's battle against terror |date=12 December 2018|first=Jonathon |last=Gatehouse |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404210321/https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/national-today-newsletter-terrorism-implant-registry-rice-1.4939071|archive-date=4 April 2019 |access-date=23 April 2019|quote=22 — the number of terror incidents on French soil since the beginning of 2015. / 249 — the number of dead in those attacks. / 928 — the number of wounded.}}</ref>

The deadly attacks in 2015 in France changed the issue of Islamist radicalization from a security threat to also constitute a social problem. Prime minister [[François Hollande]] and prime minister [[Manuel Valls]] saw the fundamental values of the French republic being challenged and called them attacks against secular, enlightenment and democratic values along with "what makes us who we are".<ref name="ispi2018" />

Although jihadists in the 2015-onward timeframe legitimized their attacks with a narrative of reprisal for France's participation in the international coalition fighting the Islamic State, Islamic terrorism in France has other, deeper and older causes. The main reasons France suffers frequent attacks are, in no particular order:<ref name="FranceThreat">{{Cite web|url=https://english.aivd.nl/publications/publications/2017/12/14/publication-jihadist-women-a-threat-not-to-be-underestimated|title=Jihadist women, a threat not to be underestimated – Publication – pdf|last=Koninkrijksrelaties|first=Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en|date=14 December 2017|publisher=[[AIVD]]|page=5|language=en-GB|access-date=1 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201181028/https://english.aivd.nl/publications/publications/2017/12/14/publication-jihadist-women-a-threat-not-to-be-underestimated|archive-date=1 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

* France's secular domestic policies (''[[Laïcité]]'') which jihadists perceive to be hostile towards Islam. Also, France's status as an officially secular nation and jihadists label France as "the flagship of disbelief".<ref name="FranceThreat" />
*France has a strong cultural tradition in comics, which in the context of Muhammad cartoons is a question of freedom of expression.<ref name="expressen20201104">{{cite web|title=Därför är Frankrike så hårt terrordrabbat|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/darfor-ar-frankrike-sa-hart-terrordrabbat/|access-date=4 November 2020|website=Expressen|date=3 November 2020 |language=sv}}</ref>
*France has a large Muslim minority<ref name="expressen20201104" />
*France's foreign policy towards Muslim countries and jihadist fronts. France is seen as the spearhead directed against jihadist groups in Africa, just as the United States is seen as the main force opposing jihadist groups elsewhere. France's former foreign policies such as that as its colonization of Muslim countries is also brought up in jihadist propaganda, for example, that the influence of French education, culture and political institutions had served to erase the Muslim identity of those colonies and their inhabitants.<ref name=":7h">{{cite journal|last=Bindner|first=Laurence|year=2018|title=Jihadists' Grievance Narratives against France|url=https://icct.nl/publication/jihadists-grievance-narratives-against-france/|journal=Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Studies|pages=4–8|doi=10.19165/2018.2.01|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Jihadists consider France as a strong proponent of disbelief. For instance, [[Marianne]], the national emblem of France, is considered as "a false idol" by jihadists and the French to be "idol worshippers". France also has no law against blasphemy and an [[Anti-clericalism|anticlerical]] satirical press which is less respectful towards religion than that of the US or the United Kingdom{{dubious|date=April 2024}}. The French nation state is also perceived as an obstacle towards establishing a caliphate.<ref name=":7h" />
In 2020 two Islamic terrorist attacks were foiled by authorities, bringing the total to 33 since 2017 according to [[Laurent Nuñez]], the director of [[National Centre for Counter Terrorism|CNRLT]], who declared that Sunni Islamist terrorism was a prioritised threat. Nuñez drew parallels between the three attacks of 2020 which all were attacks on "blasphemy and the will to avenge their prophet".<ref>{{cite web|title=Terrorisme: deux attentats islamistes déjoués en 2020, 33 depuis 2017|url=https://www.rtl.fr/actu/justice-faits-divers/terrorisme-deux-attentats-islamistes-dejoues-en-2020-33-depuis-2017-7800949425|access-date=10 January 2021|website=RTL.fr|date=3 January 2021 |language=fr-FR}}</ref>