After the brutal beheading of Samuel Paty, President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech on the 2nd of October in which he pledged to defend secularism against ‘radical Islam’. Samuel Paty was a school teacher who was murdered after showing his pupils the notorious Charlie Hebdo caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
In his speech, Macron maintained an Islamophobic rhetoric while emphasising the importance of protecting the sovereignty of the French people. His speech was met with heavy backlash after he called Islam a religion ‘in crisis’, and Muslim-majority countries such as Bangladesh and Turkey have since taken to the streets to protest and some have even begun boycotting French products. Turkey’s President, Reccep Tayyip Erdogan even went as far as to suggest Macron needed a 'mental health check' for speaking so critically of Islam. Unsurprisingly, other European leaders have come out in support of France. The prime ministers of Italy, the Netherlands, and Greece have defended Macron, and Germany’s foreign minister called President Erdogan’s statements ‘a particularly low point’.
The ‘solidarity’ of these European countries with France- while well-intentioned- will have devastating effects on the Muslim populations in Europe. In a time of divide, extremism, and fear, championing French values while conveying anti-Muslim sentiments is ludicrous. It creates the impression that France is at risk of losing its identity due to religious extremists, and raises the walls of separation between Muslim and non-Muslims. Excluding Muslims from the battle against extremism negates the fact that Islamic extremism is a threat to Muslims as well- not just the West. Sidelining such a legitimate threat fuels the worn out ‘Us vs Them’ rhetoric, which instils fear and has long alienated Muslim communities all over Europe and the West in general.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on the 31st of October, 4 weeks after his speech, Emmanuel Macron outlined the importance of freedom of expression and what is referred to as ‘laïcité’. According to Macron, laïcité is the ‘complicated French conceptualisation of secularism that so often gives rise to misunderstandings’. The 1905 Law on the Separation of the Church and State made the ‘freedom to practise religion’ legally recognised and established state secularism in the public sphere. State secularism is at the heart of France’s identity. However, setting it against an entire religion makes it hard for French Muslims to bridge two seemingly conflicting identities: being French and being a Muslim. In recent years, the use of secularism has almost been weaponised to police Muslim people across France. In the summer of 2016, various cities and communes in France’s coast implemented individual bans on swimwear deemed ‘not to respect good customs and secularism’. This was in reference to ‘burkinis’ which were viewed as a ‘symbol of Islamic extremism’ and went against the secularism of the French state. Bans of this nature under the guise of security ultimately pushes Muslims away. It suggests that their presence in the public sphere poses a threat- a perception which has dominated mass media since 9/11.
In his speech Macron addressed the need to strengthen laïcité, and outlined a political programme which introduces measures across public institutions. These measures include placing mosques under greater control, requiring Islamic organisations that receive funding from the French state to sign a ‘secular charter’, and the dissolution of associations found to be pushing ideas contrary to Republican ideals. An organisation which may be forced to disband is the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF). French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted on the 20th of December that the Council of Ministers had notified the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) that it was being 'dissolved by decree'. He referred to the CCIF as an ‘enemy of the Republic’, despite it being a legal advocacy organisation which aims to combat Islamophobia. In response to Darmanin’s statements, the CCIF released a statement in which they denounced the bill against ‘separatism’ and criticised the government’s contribution to the ‘warlike discourse’ against Muslims.
"As an organisation, we no longer feel we can conduct our work in a safe environment, as our lives are threatened and the government designates us as an enemy,” said the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) in their statement.
This move to shut down an organisation which aims to fight what the French government is claiming to fight is a misguided, careless, and ridiculous approach. This will not only make it harder for victims of anti-Muslim prejudice to seek redress, it reduces Islam to a single fear- one which does not coincide with France's values.
In addition to undermining protection of freedoms of opinion, expression, and association, targeting an organization like the CCIF, which works on issues of nondiscrimination, sends a message that France will not tolerate Muslims exercising their civil and political rights to voice concerns and protest injustice on an equal basis as other populations in France. This risks inadvertently assisting the efforts of Islamist armed groups to vilify Western governments.
Despite the backlash Macron faced, it is important to note that his speech was 70 minutes long and there were indeed a few statements which were taken out of context. Macron touched on France’s colonial past- including their role in the Algerian war.
“We ourselves have built our own separatism” said President Emmanuel Macron in his speech on October 2nd
It was 2 years ago when Emmanuel Macron became the first French head of state to acknowledge that France was responsible for systematic torture during the Algerian war of independence which ended in 1962. France’s colonial past is almost taboo despite the long-lasting effects of the war, such as the current urban and rural divides which Macron referred to as the ‘ghettoization’ of the Republic. He attempted to address this taboo and made it clear that by maintaining France’s past as such, it exacerbates the ‘separatism’ France is so keen to eradicate. Although the majority have since focused on Macrons misplaced approach to combatting extremism, this part of his speech was particularly important. Frances colonial past in Algeria is one which has continued to shape modern France and resentment among France's large Muslim population- many of whom are of Algerian descent. If Macron can acknowledge the atrocities which took place during the Algerian War of Independence he can and should acknowledge what the French army did to Muslim women to understand why hijab bans are a sad example of history repeating itself. 'Unveiling ceremonies' actually took place in the late 50s to 'encourage' Muslim women's emancipation. The hijab and the way Muslim women dressed embodied a threat to colonial rule and not accepting European 'norms'. Today it embodies wider fears around Islamic extremism, terrorism, and immigration.
The future of France’s Muslim population looks divided and unclear, and politicians who amplify the warlike discourse against Muslims will prolong the antagonistic relationship between Islam and “the West”. Now is the time to think deeply about issues that affect Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and stand united in the face of extremism.