Tell Me Why They Are Rioting

I have had two thoughts throughout the Paris riots. 1) why has the main stream media been reluctant to mention that a large portion of the rioters are Muslim? and 2) Tell me more!

Somewhere in the area of 40% of the rioters are Muslim. Yet, the media seems to mention this as an aside halfway through their report. In contrast, the words "predominantly black neighborhood" were used quite frequently in reference to the New Orleans disaster. No conclusion needs to be drawn from the fact that they are Muslim. But is is a significant fact, and it should be stated, as it may become significant.

And most of the reports I have seen from the AP and Reuters have been described "250 cars burned, 2 schools burned, youths" etc. There is more to this story. Are they rioting in the name of Islam? Are they truly "youths"? Clive Davis has done a nice jobof putting these riots in perspective (France-1, France-2). He has helped me gain some knowledge of the situation. In a nutshell, these neighborhoods were areas off-limits to the French authority. They were self governed by gangs. The government decided it had gone on too long and decided to take back authority. And the gangs resisted. So they are gangs - young people who had been free from the law and now they are resisting. From this perspective, the Muslim aspect is not a factor. But it is still a fact and should not be minimized as it could become a factor.