written by sarah siddiqui
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité” (“freedom, equality, brotherhood”) is the national motto of France. The motto itself was developed during the Renaissance, the Golden Age of Europe. These three words highlight the cordial nature of France with its citizens. Contrary to its amicable nature in the past, France has blurred the lines of its motto. Recently, this motto has been proven to be a facade that masks the Islamophobic nature of France. France, a country that claims to grant its citizens freedom, equality, and brotherhood, has shown its impudence towards Islam and its Muslim citizens.
French colonialism dates back to the 17th century across the globe, and France’s impudent attitude towards Islam has been deeprooted since its colonial period. France colonized numerous countries in North Africa, including Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, since the 19th century. France maintained its control of Algeria from 1830-1962. Then, it controlled Tunisia from 1881-1956. Lastly, it controlled Morocco from 1912-1956. The pain and terror that the French colonizers inflicted upon the Muslims is shocking as they left Algeria in a chaotic and dilapidated state. Andrew Hussey, a writer for The Guardian, describes the first battle between the French colonizers and Algerian citizens with an illustrative description. He writes, “The Arab corpses that lay strewn in the streets and along the coastline were no more than incidental colour to the Parisian spectator watching the slaughter through opera glasses from the deck of his cruise ship.” French colonizers felt no remorse for the lives that were lost. Frantz Fanon, member of the National Algerian Liberation Front, revealed the French colonial doctrine in Algeria. “If we want to destroy the structure of Algerian society, its capacity for resistance,” written in the doctrine, “we must first of all conquer the women; we must go and find them behind the veil where they hide themselves and in the houses where the men keep them out of sight.” French colonizer shave explicitly stated that Islam was the crux of Algerian society and in order to destroy their society, they have made it their mission to ban the hijab and to exploit Muslim women. French colonizers believed it would be easier to seize control once Algerian Muslims had abandoned Islam. In an iconic French propaganda poster from the 1950s, French colonizers urged Muslim women to remove their veils so that they can show their beauty and be independent. The poster is written in French and translates to, “Are you not pretty? Unveil yourself!” This statement itself embodies oppression against Muslim women because they are being ridiculed for wearing the hijab and niqab. The French colonizers believe that beauty must be displayed and women shouldn’t cover their beauty. Modesty is an important ideal in Islam and Muslim women are expected to cover their beauty. If a Muslim woman chooses to cover herself with the hijab, then it doesn’t make her any less beautiful.
Figure 2: A 1950s French propaganda poster in Algeria, urging Muslim women to remove their veils
On May 13, 1958, French colonizers held a public unveiling event in Algeria and encouraged many women to participate. During this event, French men removed and burned the veils of Muslim women, to celebrate the liberation of women. This was a disgusting act by French colonizers because they forced Muslims in Algeria to abandon their Islamic practices. French colonizers masked oppression with liberation, as they forcibly removed the veils of Muslim women. The hijab itself is such a powerful icon because it is a physical representation of Islam. For this reason, French colonizers endeavored to remove the hijab so that Muslim women could forget about the concept of modesty and devotion to their religion. Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte, supports this bigoted and distorted representation of Islam. She is encouraging the French government to ban the hijab and niqab as well because Muslim women look “too scary” when they wear them. The hijab is a veil that Muslim women wear to cover the head, neck, and chest. The niqab is a veil that covers the entire face, except for the eyes. The burqa is a veil that covers the face and body. Macron shares the same bigoted views as the French colonizers, as he attempts to “liberate” Muslims through his Islamophobic agenda.
Figure 3: Image of the four types of veils that Muslim women wear ( Left to Right): Niqab, Burqa, Chador, and Hijab
Following the footsteps of the French colonizers, Macron reformed his political agenda to eliminate Islamic practices in France. According to Al Jazeera, Macron labeled Islam as a religion in crisis and advocated for “Islamic Separatism” in October 2020. His response stemmed from the killing of Samuel Paty, a French teacher, who drew a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This is an extremely offensive and blasphemous act and many Muslims were outraged when France defended the caricature for promoting and publicizing those drawings. Many Muslim leaders and community members condemned the killing of Paty; however they also felt that France should not have disrespected Islam by promoting blasphemy. Macron refused to renounce this action by defending it as a form of freedom of expression and decided to take initiative for anti-Islamic policies. In his attempt to “liberate” Islam, Macron has masked blasphemy as freedom of speech. He supported the offensive drawings of the beloved Prophet in Islam, by labeling it as a freedom of expression. This is the beginning of Macron’s tribute to Samuel Paty, and he clearly describes Muslims in an offensive and negative light. He states, “This evening I won’t speak about the fight against political, radical Islamism, which leads to terrorism. I’ve said what I had to say. I’ve given the evil a name. We’ve decided what action to take, we’ve made it tougher and will complete it. I won’t talk about those who have made us associate his name with barbarians. By labeling Muslims as “barbarians,” and classifying Islam as “evil,” Macron has adopted the same ideology as the French colonizers, who’ve aimed to eradicate Islam and force Muslims to abandon their faith. Macron doesn’t acknowledge the fact that blasphemy has been condoned by the French government. Instead, he capitalizes on this incident to promote his anti-Muslim agenda and to emphasize the importance of freedom of expression. In response to his impudent speech on Islam, there has been a significant rise of Islamophobia in France. The Daily Sabah reports that there has been a 53% increase in the number of attacks against Muslims in 2020 since the previous year. The rise of Islamophobia in France is due to Macron’s anti-Islamic rhetoric.
Figure 4: A political cartoon depicting Emmanuel Macron’s Islamophobic agenda
Instead of condemning the flagrant behavior towards Islam, Macron plans to pass Islamophobic legislations which include the closure of masjids, prohibition of Islamic classes at the masjid, etc. These legislations are listed under the “Anti-Separatism Law,” which has been effective since December 9, 2020. This law was passed to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the Laicite Law in 1905. The Laicite Law essentially advocates for secularism, as it promotes the separation of church and state. Macron believes that these legislations will make France safer, as France begins its crackdown on terrorism. BBC News reports that Macron has already launched surveillance and “special checks” on masjids to promote Islamic separatism. Interior Minister, Gerald Dermanin wrote, “As per my instructions, the state services will be launching a massive and unprecedented action against separatism. 76 mosques suspected of separatism will be investigated in the coming days and those which must be closed, will be.” According to the MiddleEastEye, the Anti-Separatism Law includes forcing imams and Muslim institutions to sign a secular charter which ensures the acknowledgement of France’s secular law. Essentially, Imams, religious leaders in masjids, are prohibited from speaking openly about Islam and must promote French secularism. In addition, Muslim patients that refuse to be examined by a physician of the opposite sex will be fined 75,000 Euros. This legislation disregards the importance of modesty in Islam, in which a Muslim woman must be seen by a female physician. The Anti-Separatism Law has paved the way for the religious persecution of Muslims in France. Macron has discriminated against Muslims because he believes that Islam is a violent religion that stirs chaos in France.
Muslims in France and the rest of the world are outraged by Macron’s hate speech against Islam. It is shocking to see that France has the audacity to pass a legislation that permits the religious persecution of Muslims. Muslim leaders across the world have responded to Macron’s Islamophobic speech. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, expressed his disdain for Macron’s policy and his agenda to secularize Islam. Erdogan ridiculed Macron for creating a hostile environment that prevents Muslims from practicing their faith. Erdogan advised Macron “to pay more attention while talking about issues that he is ignorant about. We expect him to act as a responsible statesman rather than act like a colonial governor.” It has become apparent that Macron is aligning his political agenda to the agenda of the French colonizers. In response to France’s Islamophobic attitudes, Muslims across the world have started a boycott on French products. Social media platforms are supporting this cause with the trend, #BoycottFrenchProducts. Many Muslim countries, like Jordan, have removed all traces of French products from their malls. Louis Vuitton, L’Oreal, Dior, Cartier, Lancome, are just a few of the many French brands that have seen a significant decline in their sales. BBC News revealed that France has urged Middle Eastern countries to revoke the boycott of French products.
Initially, the French Foreign Ministry didn’t view the boycott as a threat because they viewed it as a “baseless attempt pushed by a radical minority.” However, ever since the boycott has reached its apex on the social media circuit, France has received backlash and damage to its economy.
Figure 5: A list of French brands that have been banned in many Muslim countries
France needs to grant Muslims the freedom to practice their religion as they have allowed other religious groups. France has made it difficult for Muslims to practice their faith as they fear being attacked. Blasphemy can not be euphemized for the freedom of speech. France urged Muslim countries to revoke the French products ban because of the devastating impact it had on France’s economy. The French Ministry claims that "the positions defended by France [were] in favor of freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and the refusal of any call to hatred." France has blurred the lines of freedom for its Muslim citizens. The French government has deemed it appropriate to ridicule and mock Islamic beliefs, but it is during this time of hardship that the Muslims in France must stay strong and hold on to their faith.