By Staff Writer
14:12:2021

France’s Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, recently announced the closure of 21 masajid, which Paris deemed separatist. More worryingly, another 36 masajid were only allowed to operate since they agreed not to include scholars that the government opposed, meaning that over half of the 99 masajid investigated were forced to comply with a government narrative, which will likely backfire.

France, home to one of the largest Muslim minorities in Europe, has struggled to adapt, preferring to force compliance. The racist nature of the country’s so-called libertarian culture has seen it try to homogenise Muslims and close its border to migrants, yet at the same time attempt to argue that this was enlightened.

Emmanuel Macron has criticised Islam yet failed to consider that globally France supported wars in countries such as Mali and propped up dictators in Chad as a means of containing any opposition to its imperialistic intentions, thus unpopular on much of the continent.

Further, women have long been not allowed to wear the headscarf in public buildings and Burkinis for several years, while the country supposedly promotes the right for females to dress how they see fit. In addition, in 2020, efforts were made to curtail Halaal food labelling, as the country wants to suppress Islam supposedly pre-emptively.

A constitutional amendment passed in July makes it mandatory for masajid to register as religious places, limits foreign donations, and tightens the rules for homeschooling – laws disproportionately applied to Muslim and Islamic institutions.

In France, one can criticise religious figures, but not the republic; as many argue, it is a form of illiberal secularism, an intolerant religion.