France: Man converts to Islam ‘to stop drinking,’ ends up advocating for jihad terrorism

Yet another convert to Islam somehow gets the crazy idea that his new, peaceful religion requires him to do violence to non-Muslims. Authorities remain resolutely incurious about this recurring phenomenon.

“Converted to Islam in one day, ‘to stop drinking,’ a resident of Eure-et-Loir is tried for advocating terrorism,” translated from “Converti à l’Islam en une journée, “pour ne plus boire”, un habitant d’Eure-et-Loir est jugé pour apologie du terrorisme,” L’Yonne Républicaine, November 10, 2023 (thanks to Medforth):

After an express conversion to Islam, to help him stop drinking, according to him, a resident of Senonches allegedly indulged in glorification of terrorism on social networks.

According to the gendarmes’ investigation, the 21-year-old resident of Senonches was easily identified thanks to the IP address of his computer, after the publication, on social networks, of posts qualified by the authorities as “glorification of terrorism through electronic means of communication.”

Posts that praised the actions of Hamas, accompanied by hateful comments towards Israelis and the Jewish people. Presented for immediate appearance before the Chartres court, he requested time to prepare his defense. The judges therefore looked solely at his background and his personality, to decide whether he should wait for his future trial in detention, or on the contrary, be released.

“I converted in one day”
Convicted in the past for theft, domestic violence, rebellion and driving while under the influence of alcohol, he admits, before the judges, “to have had major alcohol problems.” These are the problems which, according to his confidences with the personality investigator, would have, among other things, pushed him to convert. Indeed, the Muslim religion prohibits alcohol.

This is also the only precept he admits to knowing.

“I converted in one day, after buying a conversion pack on the internet for €20.”

THE ACCUSED
His knowledge of the Muslim religion would be limited to the two pages taken from the Koran received with his conversion kit. He also admits not knowing any surah.

“I regret what I did”
His knowledge of geopolitics, according to the gendarmes who questioned him at length about his motivations, seems just as modest. “He was unaware that Hamas was considered a terrorist organization,” the gendarmes noted in their report. “He also didn’t know that Hamas had struck Israel on October 7, 2023. We were the ones who taught him.”

In front of the judges, despite his imposing stature and his full beard, the young man behaves almost like a teenager in distress, his eyes darting back and forth between the courtroom and the judges. Married, father of one child, and unemployed since 2019 following a work accident, he apologizes. “I regret what I did and what I am.”