● The “French exception” as they call it is an extreme view of secularism, leaving no room for practicing Muslims.
● French Muslims are fleeing the country in the thousands every year.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games gave the world the image of a society in which Muslims are invisible. All the space was given to the LGBT, glorifying a certain moral decadence.
France is known all over the world for its extreme view of secularism and its constant provocations against religion.
Muslims, who are the last practicing believers have become the main target since Christianity no longer weighs much on society.
Education:
Muslim girls are not allowed to enter schools with a hijab. They are checked at the entry and have to take it off until they leave the premises.
A girl who is under the age of 10 could be taken away from her family if they consider that her hijab is a sign of radicalisation. The appreciation is left to non-Muslims who know little about Islam and usually have strong prejudice against it.
Since most girls have complied with the rule and taken off their hijab, they came up with a new rule banning any long-covering dress. They said these are abayas and are a symbol of Islam.
The fact that Muslims have compromised on their hijabs has not helped them and the local authorities seem to show an endless dissatisfaction with them.
There are about 70 Muslim schools in France against 300 for the Jewish community. More and more schools are being closed, like the Averroes High School, which had excellent results.
The authorities keep suspecting Muslims and the way they educate their children.
They push for secularism and violate their own laws by getting involved in Muslim religious affairs. Indeed, the law on secularism guarantees complete separation between the State and religious institutions, preventing the first from interfering with the latter.
Several families have had their kids removed for refusing to make a minute of silence for Charlie in school. Some children as young as 10 have been raided and arrested by the police.
Others lose their children because they speak Arabic to them or because they teach them Islam. The excuse given to the parents is “a risk of radicalisation”, even though their practice is mainstream.
Housing and Employment:
Several documentaries and surveys done by anti-discrimination organisations have proved that being Muslim, Arab, or of African origin is a factor making the search for an apartment or a job in France very difficult.
Actually, ARTE, a Franco-German channel stated in one of its programs, that it is 7 times more difficult to find a job for a Muslim in France than for an African-American in the USA.
Putting one’s picture on the CV is compulsory and having a name that is considered to be non-European can be an obstacle to even being considered for a job position.
More and more educated Muslims, with a master’s or a PHD, have resorted to going abroad to find a job or be able to progress in their career.
This includes Muslims with a hijab and a beard but not only.
The law forbids discrimination but many landlords ask estate agents (off the record) to refuse any Muslim, Black, or Arab tenants. The fact that they have a decent salary and good references does not make a difference to them. This makes it difficult for them to better their living conditions and leave those buildings in urban areas which are real modern ghettos.
Sports and Competition:
We have seen recently how female hijabis carrying the French nationality were the only ones being banned from participating in the Olympic Games.
This shows how France has a unique way of considering secularism and bears extreme views on it.
Hijabi athletes from other nationalities can only participate because France cannot discriminate against them.
There was very little outrage from feminists around the world and this is mainly other Muslims who have pointed out the injustice of that situation.
Australian Boxer Tina Rahimi criticised the French authorities for the ban and explained that women should have the right to dress as they wish.
It seems that France agrees with this statement only when it comes to Iranian women who want to take off their hijab. Their double standards are apparent but despite criticism from all around the world, they refused to overturn their decision.
Hijabi women have not been the only ones being targeted by sports authorities.
Indeed, men playing during Ramadan have also faced pressure to stop fasting. A possible ban preventing them from playing was also discussed even though no evidence was shown to prove that fasting could affect their performance. On the opposite, several footballers had better results while fasting and said they felt more energetic.
Other players faced backlash for refusing to wear the LGBT flag on their T-shirts. They were accused of homophobia and several political parties used that to imply that Islam could not fit into French society.
The Halal Business:
Brigitte Bardot and the far-right have attacked Muslims several times during Eid, arguing that the way Muslims slaughtered animals was inhumane.
No such statement was ever made for kosher meat but they tried to force Muslims to stun animals before slaughtering them, which is not compliant with Shariah law.
So far, halal slaughtering is still allowed and the halal business represents a juicy chunk of the food industry in France. Strangely though, most brands are owned by non-Muslim firms and Al Kanz website, who gives information about Muslim consumerism in France, stated in one of their studies that the quality of halal sausages and other transformed meat products sold in France is worse than the quality of dog meat!
Indeed, the first contains more mechanically transformed meat than the latter.
Mechanically separated meat is a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue. Not very appetizing!
Their website is full of articles regarding products that had to be recalled for lack of hygiene or compliance with the food industry standards.
Places of worship and cultural associations:
In 2015, following the attacks in Paris, many mosques were raided by the police, with dogs and dirty boots. Qurans were thrown onto the floor and Muslims were treated as criminals.
Many organisations who had an important role in the community, like teaching Islam and Arabic were also closed by the government. No good reason was given and no evidence of any crimes was ever shown.
Innocent families were also raided by the police, simply for being or looking Muslim, and many examples of abuse happened during those raids. A 16-year-old girl explained to the CCIF, an organisation against islamophobia in France, that a policeman touched her inappropriately.
The CCIF denounced all the abuse that was reported to them and this can explain why they were targeted by the government. The organisation had successfully won several legal cases and their efficiency represented a danger for the authorities.
After the NGO Barakacity was dismantled, several millions, that had been donated to the needy across the world, had been confiscated, and its founder was arrested, the CCIF dissolved itself and moved to Belgium.
There, they became the CCIE and continue to this day their fight against islamophobia in Europe, while still facing constant threats from the French government as well as the Belgian Far-right.
French Muslims are fleeing the country:
Those events were a huge trauma for many Muslims who decided they could no longer accept the discrimination and the fear of being who they were.
Thousands have left already, choosing to settle in the UK, Canada, and Australia but also in Malaysia and Singapore.
Many have relocated to Turkey and even bought an apartment there.
They are usually very qualified workers. Some are visible Muslims but not all of them.
They feel they have a better chance of furthering their career and also offering a safe and productive environment to their children if they leave France.
For those Muslims, France is no longer the attractive land it used to be and even though many are French citizens, they do not see any future there.
France insists on being this “French exception” but this image has given the world a very negative image of the country. In a globalised world in which Muslims represent 1.9 billion people, France risks isolating itself and falling behind.
