Anti-Muslim France

A European human rights watchdog group is warning about the escalation of far-right ideology, particularly violent and non-violent attacks on Muslims. The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) said that not only are minority groups facing attacks, but so are the civil society organisations that are working to help and support them. The group singled out France as one of the worst offenders, saying that the “country is showing marks of a growing far-right within its institutions”. This is something that is more commonly associated with repressive and fascistic countries, not one that is built on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.

The French Observatory of Associative Freedom noted the “systematic absence of legal or factual basis for abusive sanctions” in 20 cases between 2016 and 2021, explaining that these have endangered the rights and freedoms of minority groups, and Muslims in particular. While racism and bigotry are universal problems — no country can claim to truly be free of hate — the examples given for France are highly concerning because they are coming from the state level, rather than bad actors on the fringes. “Under the guise of national security, civil society organisations have been dissolved, mosques have been raided, and schools and Muslim-owned businesses closed,” ENAR said.

French politicians are actively appealing to far-right political organisations, not just in their country, which could be partially excused as an election tactic, but across Europe, which illustrates that major political parties are now moving towards ideologies similar to those that the founders of modern France liberated the country from less than 80 years ago.

France is now a country where Muslims are “considered guilty until proven innocent”. Media too has reported on how French-born and bred Muslims have left the country as they seek to escape the outright racism they face from French society. As one French Muslim emigre recently told the NYT, “It’s only abroad that I’m French,” referring to the otherness he was subjected to in his homeland.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2022.

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