France’s relationship with its Muslim population has always been a multi-faceted one, noteworthy of interest, speculation and questions as to why there has not been a happy medium. One of the major problems facing France today is unemployment and the economy. However, the integration of its people regardless of colour, ethnicity and religion is a constant struggle in French politics and everyday life.
In April 2011, the French parliament decided to ban the burka and any other articles of clothing which hid a person’s face and prevented her from being identified. Fair enough. The line stretches further. Since September 16, 2011, a ban has been put in place on praying on the street, the French Interior Minister further stating that force would be applied if necessary.
This new ban, in the minds of many no doubt, opens up a large can of worms. There are undoubtedly the logistical, practical questions. One such question being: since France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim population (six million to be precise, almost the population of smaller European countries such as Norway and Denmark), why then are there not enough mosques at least in the major metropolitan cities such as Paris and Marseilles? Why has it reached a point where the few mosques are so overflowing that people are obliged to pray on the streets? In every major city in the United States there is at least one mosque. Why then has France somehow overlooked this necessity for its Muslim population and permission not been granted to build new ones?
The convenient political answer no doubt lies in the fact that France has had a separation of the Church and state and has been practising secularism since 1905. This answer would be largely acceptable had it not been for the underlying negativity or rather apathy at times, which the French government seems to portray towards Muslim, a large majority of them born and bred in France.
Many examples can be cited to support this position even prior to this recent ban. The 2005 riots were further flared by the comments of the then French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, that the largely North African Muslim rioters “lived on the margins of society”.
This hits the nail on the head of the crux of the problem. Why are French Muslim youth and French Muslims in general, the largest minority in the country, on the margins of society socially and economically? There are two sides to the coin and this writer for one has been attempting to seek the response to this dilemma for many years, usually unsuccessfully.
Firstly, there may be remnants of sentiments of colonialism dating back to France’s occupation of North African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Perhaps there is a hint of the colonist overseeing his subjects and not providing adequately for the latter to rise up and achieve the maximum potential of their goals. Affirmative action exists in France, largely in theory. Concretely and in practice there seem to be no substantial incentives to prevent these people living on the “margins of society”. What incentives and opportunities are given to stop them from roaming the streets and engaging in crimes? What incentives are given to stop them from living on the fringes of society in the forms of educational and vocational programmes in order to be competitive in the workplace like their non-Muslim counterparts?
One is told time and time again that the Muslim population is not being able to integrate into the fabric of French culture. It is no doubt high time the French government took several introspective steps back and asked itself how to not just integrate but to embrace them and to allow them an opportunity to rise above and beyond the peripheries of society. If even possessing an obviously Muslim sounding name on a CV can carry a stigma and preference will be given to someone with exactly the same qualifications without a Muslim name, can this be regarded as integration on the part of French society?
Recently, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far rightwing party, the National Front, only added insult to injury when she compared the act of praying on the streets to the Nazi occupation of Paris, alluding to the “invasion” of Muslims praying on the street. What Miss Le Pen hopes perhaps, along with her counterparts in the French government, is that the Muslims of France, who have been there for generations, will somehow just go away if the laws are made so stringent that they affect their everyday lives. Furthermore, one wonders how Miss Le Pen, aged 43, would even recall the Nazi invasion of Paris! It should not be forgotten that these people come to France leaving their homeland in search of a better quality of life, better schools, healthcare, freedom and democracy.
Le Pen’s insistence and almost obsession with halal meat in France seems so far removed from what is really on the agenda for the country to tackle its economic problems that one seriously wonders whether she is oblivious to the real issues or just wishes to ignore them. Surprising thought that she had managed to win 18 percent of the votes during the presidential election of 2012.
Are they really that much better off years down the line? Instead of integration there is often marginalisation. Instead of an understanding of cultural and religious differences, there is a sentiment of ‘us’ and ‘them’. It would be the realisation of a dream to see many more Zinedine Zidanes in France but, very sadly, the shift seems to be heading in the opposite direction in Europe in general.
It would be fair to say that this pushing away of the Muslims and alienating them further creates an anger that manifests itself in the negative actions that particularly the youth engage in. Would it not be more advisable for France to not create further rifts and conflicts in a situation that will only cause turbulence in an already increasingly failing economy? Is France actually not losing out on a huge work force also in consequence?
For Le Pen and those who are like-minded, history should be a reminder that the concept and practice of ‘divide and conquer’ simply failed.
The writer is an English and French professor and columnist residing in the USA and France. She can be reached at [email protected]