(New York, NY 10/07/2020) The French President Emmanuel Macron has consistently targeted the French Muslim community through Islamophobic rhetoric and policies. His new law, intentionally mislabeled as “Islamist Separatism,” seeks to further violate the religious rights of French Muslim minorities. Through a false equivocation with curbing violent extremism, Macron is targeting the Muslim community by introducing a law that will significantly restrict families from homeschooling their children. Such a law is blatantly Islamophobic and Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York condemns this action.
Indicators of violent extremism by Macron’s standards include wearing the veil, refusal for opposite genders to shake hands, and gender segregation in public pools. Following 9/11, New York witnessed very similar and absurd policies implemented by law enforcement who marked growing a beard, praying five times a day, and other basic religious activities to be “growing signs of radicalization.” This remains to be an intimidation tactic by governments to corner Muslims into fear of practicing their own religion, and nothing more. Research has consistently debunked the association of practicing religion to homegrown terrorism. Instead economic and social marginalization have proven to be more likely triggers for violent behavior. France’s targeting of French Muslims seeks nothing but to further alienate an already marginalized community through religious discrimination and continue their historical mission of “civilizing” communities they deem to be backwards by their own standards.
President Macron’s quick condemnations of anti-Semitism and simultaneous approvals of Islamophobia are evident of double-standards and French hypocrisy in their government. We at Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York, an umbrella for over 90 Muslim-led organizations, stand with our French Muslim brothers and sisters against France’s blatant Islamophobia, and denounce the Islamist Separatism Law. Please keep the oppressed around the world and at home in your prayers.