I'm willing to be argued with, but I find it difficult to believe that the primary goal of this attack was to provoke a backlash against French Muslims. If that had been the primary goal, then why they attack Charlie Hebdo of all things? As strong as the reaction has been, it surely would be a thousand times stronger had they targeted, say, an elementary school. If there is a recruitment message in the attack, the choice of target makes it seem as though the message is aimed directly at any other Muslims who might already be primed for radicalization.
I'm willing to be argued with, but I find it difficult to believe that the primary goal of this attack was to provoke a backlash against French Muslims. If that had been the primary goal, then why they attack Charlie Hebdo of all things? As strong as the reaction has been, it surely would be a thousand times stronger had they targeted, say, an elementary school. If there is a recruitment message in the attack, the choice of target makes it seem as though the message is aimed directly at any other Muslims who might already be primed for radicalization.