By Arshad
Alam, New Age Islam
23
February, 2021
In
a debate on the place of Islam in France, the centrist French interior minister
accused the far right leader Marine Le Pen of being ‘too soft’ on Islamism. Not
only was Le Pen shocked and started fumbling, the left leaning daily Le Monde
described this exchange as ‘unprecedented’ and called it an ‘unexpected gift’
for Pen to have been ‘portrayed as a moderate by a minister without having to
change her poliمcies’. This
political encounter not just highlights the confusion over how to deal with
Islam but also how far the centre in France has traversed to the right.
Islamism
and its associated political violence is not new to France. The country has
been facing this problem for more than a decade now. The current debate within
France is in the backdrop of the killing of Samuel Patty, a teacher who had
discussed the issue of Charlie Hebdo with his students as an example of free
speech. There is some evidence to suggest that parents who got upset over the
content of this kind of teaching, had called for him to be punished. His
beheading by an immigrant Muslim sparked a fresh round of talk about the place
of Islam and Muslims in France. It must be recalled that the French president
Macron had publically stated that Islam is going through a major crisis and that
there was a need to curb foreign influences on this religion. He had talked
about bringing in a new law to tackle this problem. That law is currently being
debated in the French parliament and there are good chances that at the end of
this debate, we will see a much stricter law than was envisioned by the
president himself. Certainly the law will have the support of the right but not
without making it more specific to Islam.
The
proposed law has very nearly divided the French society. Those opposing the law
are largely from the left who have been arguing that the attempt of the French
state should be the integration of Muslims rather treating every one of them as
potential terrorist, which this law intends to do. The left has been
highlighting issues like racism and discrimination against Muslims, which they
argue, leads to alienation, violence and terrorism. The problem of ‘Muslim
separatism’, according to them, can be solved by putting policies in place
which integrate more and more Muslims within the opportunity structure. This
solution is extremely ill informed of the complexities of Islamism.
Research
suggests that Islamism does not occur because of lack of opportunities but
because it subscribes to a certain ideology. That ideology is one of establishing
Islamic supremacy all over the world and making a particular interpretation of
Islam as the master narrative. Certainly there is no racism and discrimination
against Muslim in the Islamic world and yet we see some of these countries in
the grip of Islamism and terrorism. Granted that Muslims in Europe are at the
margins but this precariousness of their material situation must not be seen as
the sole reason for the growth of Islamism. Moreover, the left, and not just in
Europe, has been making the mistake of defending Muslim regressive practices
like sexual segregation as a matter of communitarian choice. A community
policing its women and children is not a matter of choice but simply a matter
of political subjugation. The left, in turning a blind eye to a whole host of
anti-libertarian practices within the Muslim community, is simply not being
true to its own political philosophy.
That
said, the law should not be open to misuse and an entire community should not
be held guilty for the folly of a few. The law might create the impression that
Islam is incompatible with France which might further stigmatise Muslims. One
aspect of the proposed law is an increased surveillance on mosques in a bid to
control radicalism. While not discounting the fact that one particular mosque
was related to the killing of Samuel Patty, most radicalism now happens online
and through international networks. One is not quite sure how an increased
surveillance over mosques would be potent in controlling radicalism and
terrorism. Moreover, the government should be seen to be just and fair when it
comes to Muslim groups. While it has banned the Collective AgainstIslamophobia,
which fights against discrimination of Muslims, the government hasn’t dealt
with the far right Generation Identitaire in a similar fashion. Such double
standards create the impression that the current French government is simply
interested in stigmatizing Muslims rather than having an earnest interest in
fighting Islamism.
At
the same time, there are aspects of the law which should have been addressed by
Muslims themselves. The law seeks to curb home schooling and allow it only in
exceptional circumstances like medical condition. Part of the reason why some
Muslims are objecting to this provision is because they believe that the French
schooling system promotes values which are antithetical to Islam and hence they
want educate their children at homes. Parts of the legislation also seeks to
crack down on any behaviour that violates the dignity of people, especially women.
The provisions of the proposed law seek to ban ‘virginity tests’ and put
stricter measures against forced marriages and polygamy. There is no
justification today for schooling children at home simply because parents want
to inculcate certain religious values in them. Fundamentally, this goes against
the right of children. Similarly, the advocacy of sexual segregation in schools
by certain Muslim groups should necessarily be seen as an attempt to control
women’s sexuality and not celebrated as the choice of a community.
In
the first place, Muslims themselves should have come forward and put a stop to
these practices. In not addressing issues such as forced marriages and
segregation, they themselves have left the space wide open for intervention by the
state. It is heartening to note that despite the brouhaha to the contrary, many
Muslims in fact are welcoming such reforms. The voices of these Muslims need to
be amplified for they sure tell us that there is nothing inherently
antagonistic between Islam and the French state; that there is a meeting ground
between the demands of the state and the reformist impulses of Muslims.
Arshad
Alam is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/france,-islam-muslim-response/d/124378
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