What does MAFIA stand for?

[stemac1]

I believe it to be latin, and if you'll excuse the spelling, the first part is along the lines of Mortay A La Francaise Inescu.......? (death to the french.....?)

[kempie]

Henner Hess, author of the book Mafia and Mafiosi cites the slogan "Morte alla Francia Italia anela!", meaning "Death to the French is Italy's cry!" as a possible origin of the word. Other acronyms, yet highly improbable, are slogans such as "Mazzini autorizza furti, incendi, avvelenamenti" ("Mazzini authorizes theft, arson, poisoning") and "mothers and fathers Italian association". Ultimately, he finds that the "theory which assigns the greatest antiquity to this society suggests that mafia is a corruption of the Arabic word mu afah, in which mu means something like inviolability, strength, vigour, refuge and afah something like to secure, to protect. Mu afah had therefore been an association which provided security for its members."

Former U.S. mob don Joseph Bonanno provided an origin that was a confused reference to the Sicilian Vespers, a patriotic uprising in Sicily against the French in 1282. Bonnano claimed that French soldiers had violated a Sicilan girl. The girl's distraught mother ran through the streets of Palermo crying "ma fia" ("my daughter"), causing the young men of Palermo to kill the French in response.

[Loosehead]

"Death to the French......"  At last something positive from the mafia!