Benchellali, Mourad, interview 1 - short clip - HowtoFightRadicalIslam

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	(Mourad speaks in foreign language)	0:03
Translator	I think that what matters today in relation	0:06
	to democracies is that they must be built	0:09
	on law, on justice, not on moral judgment.	0:12
	It's important,	0:16
	it means that laws cannot be based on the	0:17
	statement that so-and-so is bad.	0:19
	The only right question to ask is,	0:21
	does he have the right to do this, or doesn't he?	0:24
	I'll give you a concrete example.	0:26
	Now in France, people say the problem isn't with jihadists,	0:28
	the problem is with radical Islam.	0:32
	There is this concept that didn't exist until now	0:35
	that is being called radical Islam.	0:38
	That is an Islam that would be bad,	0:40
	that wouldn't be compatible with a Republic.	0:42
	And people say, that's the enemy, the true enemy.	0:45
	But I think that by doing so,	0:48
	we only make the problem worse.	0:50
	I mean, we may not agree on our values with other people,	0:51
	but the question remains,	0:54
	is this person allowed to think that way,	0:56
	or must we impose one same way of thinking on everybody?	0:58
	Even when it isn't dangerous?	1:02
	You cannot force people to all think the same way,	1:04
	you cannot attack people for their thoughts.	1:07
	You cannot tell people, this is the way you must think.	1:09
	Is it dangerous or not?	1:13
	That's all that matters.	1:14
	And I say this because radicalization, or even radical Islam	1:15
	for example, it's just ideas.	1:19
	And we must fight ideas with other ideas.	1:21
	We change people's minds by engaging with them,	1:25
	not by forcing them.	1:27
	This is by way of saying that you cannot change	1:29
	the world with a show of force.	1:31
	You can change it with politics and with dialogue.	1:33
	And today most States have decided to change things	1:38
	with a show of force.	1:41
	And that's how come we won't find a solution.	1:42
	I believe this is our problem today.	1:46
	We say we're going to fight a war	1:48
	in order to bring democracy, but you have to show	1:50
	that democracy is the best option,	1:53
	instead of bringing it by force.	1:55

Item Info

Title:

Benchellali, Mourad, interview 1 - short clip - HowtoFightRadicalIslam

Date:

August 9, 2009

Interviewer:

Honigsberg, Peter Jan

Interviewee:

Benchellali, Mourad

Role:

Detainee

Description:

This interview may include descriptions of violence.
Detainee Number US9FR-000161DP
Mourad Benchellali, male, age 28, French, was detained in Guantanamo from January 17, 2002 until July 26, 2004, when he was returned to France. He is currently public speaking in France, in the hope that by hearing his story, young people will not join ISIS or participate in suicide attacks.
Description was provided by Witness to Guantanamo.

Subject:

France

Format:

oral histories

Language:

French

Extent:

2:33:53

Digital Collection:

Witness to Guantanamo

Source Collection:

Witness to Guantanamo Video Collection, 2009-2017

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Rights Note:

Unless otherwise noted, copyright is held by Peter Hongisberg. Under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license, you are free to use and share these materials subject to the following conditions: You must attribute Peter Hongisberg as the rights holder. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. You may not distribute any modifications to the materials. For other uses, including commercial uses, please contact Rubenstein Library at http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/ask.

Identifier:

fc42c0fd697b3c371bb183488fee41ee
witnesstoguantanamo
ark:/87924/r4x63jq72
4ae87d3d-ac60-475b-ae7e-d9823d7556f2

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Benchellali, Mourad, interview 1 - short clip - HowtoFightRadicalIslam

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