The New Normal: Government Sanctioned Islamophobia in France
Written by Mridula Divakar, edited by Arushi Patil, Harvi Karatha, & Neve Walker. Layout by Harini Akurathi and blogged by Asic
France has been constantly attacked for preaching secularism and freedom of expression while simultaneously marginalizing the Muslim community. A catalyst for this uptake of restrictive policies was the 9/11 attack. It led to the banning of veils and niqabs in France, blatantly displaying a sense of deep-rooted communalism that has been prevalent for at least a decade: an attitude that is not going to disappear anytime soon.
In fact, the news has been flooded with the announcement of the partial approval of banning minors from wearing hijabs in public this month, which is only a small aspect of the separatism law that was passed in the Senate. The law additionally outlines the following: homeschooling will be severely limited, religious practices will be subject to serious oversight, and stringent measures will be imposed in order to reduce the prevalence of forced marriages. While at first glance this seems rather beneficial to the country, the debates and agreements that allowed such a law to be passed must be scrutinized. President Emmauel Macron said that this law is aimed at “free[ing] Islam in France from foreign influences” (Tidey), suggesting that people who pratice Islam are forced to abide by the religion’s rules and are oppressed. President Macron even stated that young Muslim girls are not subject to proper education since they are forced to take religious classes.
The law would also allow local authorities to practice more aggressive methods of restricting freedom of expression as they can temporarily shut down religious organisations or demand to speak to couples even if they only suspect that the organisation is promoting radical views or that the woman is in a forced marriage, respectively. This increased freedom to interrogate people who are simply suspicious will most definitely affect the Islamic community due to the encouragement of racial profiling and the false preconceived notion that Islam is oppressive. The fact that the bill itself is highly vague, giving local authorities the ability to make impromptu decisions, will certainly contribute to discrimination of Muslims in the nation.
On the other hand, many government workers have argued that this law has the potential to do some good. For example, a report in 2003 put nearly 70,000 women at risk of forced marriages, and the number has been predicted to climb ever since. NGOs across the country are determined to save such women who are forced to procure a visa for the groom and consummate their marriage. The NGO Voix de Femmes has reported that it frees at least 200 women annually from such catastrophic situations, which the new separatism law can help decrease (Hardach). Additionally, increasing oversight online and monitoring the financials of religious organizations will help the government shield the nation from future radical terrorist attacks, increasing overall security. Lastly, oppressed girls and women will be guaranteed a way out.
Another major argument that the government posed is that France is not the only country trying to create such laws. India, a relatively conservative country with a large Muslim minority, has introduced several laws that would protect women from forced marriages (Canopyforum). While this has helped curb honor killings in India, it is only one part of the story. Inter-religious marriages are often subject to extreme scrutiny even if they are consensual, and the rising popularity of love jihad (the unsupported claim that Muslim men are trying to threaten India’s security by wooing Hindu women) has shown that such laws are destructive and are barely effective.
The separatism law has been deemed discriminatory worldwide, and while some of the aspects included can potentially be beneficial, the idea that all Muslim women are oppressed is dangerous and will lead to more violence and discrimination instead of more security.
References
Canopy Forum. (2021, March 22). “France’s New Marriage Laws Could Trigger Islamophobic Abuses” by Matthew P. Cavedon. Canopy Forum. https://canopyforum.org/2021/03/22/frances-new-marriage-laws-could-trigger-islamophobic-abuses/.
Hardach, S. (2009, September 2). New school year puts French on forced marriage alert. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-forced-marriages/new-school-year-puts-french-on-forced-marriage-alert-idUSTRE5812SG20090902.
Tidey, A. (2021, February 16). Here’s all you need to know about France’s new separatism law. euronews. https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/16/here-s-what-you-need-to-know-about-france-s-controversial-separatism-law.
Originally published at https://issuu.com.
