After
Belgium, France is moving towards a full ban on burqa or niqab in public places.
The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on April 21 that his government
had decided to ban the burqa on the basis of equality between men and women and
the dignity of human beings. New Age Islam is publishing a paper read by
a leading pro-hijab activist
Dr Abdallah Thomas Milcent before The UN Human Rights Committee on March
19, 2010. He takes French media to task for
what he calls creation of an imaginary Islam and discusses
real political convergences behind the demagogy.
Comite 15 mars et
Libertes
(Committee
on March 15 and Freedoms)
FRANCE:
Dr.
Abdallah Thomas MILCENT’S UN Human Rights
Committee’s Speech on
March
19th 2010
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am fully aware
that coming here to tell you about violations of Muslims’ rights living in
France can appear inadequate.
It is true that
every day, thousands of people are detained, killed, tortured throughout the
world, because of their religious, political beliefs, their sexual orientation,
or colour of skin.
On the other hand,
France, the country of my ancestors, has always claimed to be the champion, not
to say the inventor of human rights.
French diplomacy
has excelled in giving lessons in this issue.
However, we are
facing important movements is Islamophobia, characterized by violence especially
conducted towards Muslims.
That is why, just
like many citizens, we were first surprised than astonished by what happened
during the period from May 2003 to March 2004.
It is during this
time that a so-called debate took place on the national level leading to the
adoption of the 15th March 2004 law banishing in state schools the
wearing by pupils of religious sings showing ostensibly a religious belonging,
also called (anti- veil law).
The
Context
Characteristics
of Muslims in France
France is the
European country which proportionally counts the most important number of
Muslims.
They are estimated
from 6 to 10 millions in France, for a 66 million
population.
Most of Muslims are
French, because of the fact that in French law the principle of jus soli
(citizenship by birth) prevails.
Islam became
seconds France’s religion after Catholicism and before Reformism and
Judaism.
The great majority
of Muslims come from the 20th Century immigration, and most of them
belong to poor social groups and live in impoverished background, located in big
industrial areas.
Very marginal at
the beginning, the Muslim religious practice developed itself in the sixties and
seventies, known as “Islam of the caves”.
The creation of
Great Mosques more recently was most of the time at the initiative of private
groups.
Muslim practice has always been discrete,
never claiming, dissociated from political and trade union movements in the
country.
Muslim in France
are common citizens, subscribing to the Republican Pact, respecting the law and
values of our living together and very attached to human
rights.
This peaceful Islam
is still prevailing today, not influenced by radical movements unfortunately
existing abroad.
Muslims in France
are structured in federation of associations, regarding the country of origin,
but other association like the UOIF call for the development and the practice of
an Islam more specifically adapted to the French context.
The discussions
between the French government and the representatives of Muslim associations at
the national level lead twelve years later, to the creation of the French
Council of Muslim Cult (CUFCM) in 2003, a private organization, more or less
democratic, interface between Muslims and the State.
The
creation of an imaginary Islam
Until the
seventies, Islam in France was almost inexistent in French Media. From 1978-79,
after the Iranian Islamic revolution and the oil crisis, the international
context changed, and Islam was somehow perceived as an aggressive religion in
Western countries.
Then, Muslim
immigrants were accused of being responsible of the economic crisis, because of
their lack of integration.
In 1989, after the
“Rushdie case” and the first exclusions of French pupils wearing Islamic
headscarves from school, Islam became a major issue for mass
media.
At that time, mass
media didn’t hesitate to stigmatise in a sick way the so-called “Muslim
community”, described as a homogeneous block threatening French identity,
perceived as “instinctively secular, mainly Christian and uniformly white”,
according to scholars.
During the
nineties, French media opposed the construction of an “Islam of France” to the
Saddam Hussein’s drifts or Algerian Islamism.
This distinction
aims clearly to separate “moderate Muslims”, who should be integrated to the
national community, from the so-called “fundamentalists” or “psalmists”, who
should be fought.
These simplistic
analysis grills lead to confusions and amalgams that the media end up themselves
to denounce.
The security
psychosis following the nine eleven’s attacks shows us that French media fails
to depict the terrorist enemy, invisible in essence. The amalgams and confusions develop
increasingly.
The media have
indeed a central role, no longer in reporting a social reality seen by
journalists, but in manipulating social ties and even in the creation of fictive
images, which are substituted to the communities they are supposed to
describe.
The debate on media
preceding the adoption of the 15th March 2004 Law was exclusively
nourished by this “imaginary Islam”, a complete
fabrication.
The
creation of an imaginary preoccupation
Far from the idea
that the press deals with and reflects the preoccupations of French people, the
debate on Islamic veil in 2003 and 2004 wasn’t based on any major
fact.
We can consider the
way the “Islamic headscarves cases” in French schools were dealt with as a
“political hysteria”. It is due to the fact that French elites were unable to
conceptualise a multi ethnic and multi cultural society, and bring concrete
solutions to its challenges.
It is more
comfortable for politicians to hide behind an imaginary Islam constructed
previously by the media, rather than making the intellectual effort necessary
for a real analysis of contemporary social issues.
This phantasmal
Islam inspires right wing politician such as Eduardo Balladur, former French
Prime Minister, in his book “La fin de I’ illusion Jacobin”( The end of l’
Jacobin illusion), as well as left wing politicians. Some scholars explain that
by “the enrooting of a post colonial racism in France, systemic racism which
touches all social classes and political parties, even the most “progressive” or
“revolutionary “ones”.
Behind
the demagogy, real political convergences
We find behind
those simplistic and demagogic discourses real political convergences, more
serious and more concrete.
In spring 2003, the
French government had to face social troubles, demonstrations against the reform
retirement system, and more especially the hostility of public servants, more
directly concerned by the reform. The heart of contestation was lead by teachers
of sate schools.
Moreover, teachers
are over represented in associations claiming to “defend secularity”. They are
also very much represented in left political parties.
Political
declarations have clearly preceded the hysteria of media
It is only after
declarations of French political leaders that two commissions were created, one
at the initiative of the French President, Jacques Chirac, called the “Stasi
Commission”, the other one at the initiative of the President of the House of
Representatives, Jean-Louis Debre.
The 15 March 2004
law is clearly the result of compromise between the conservative government and
the teachers from the left, to save the pension, to the determent of scapegoats,
Muslims pupils, and pretending to protect an improperly defined
secularity.
This law has also
made evolved the French “laicite”(secularism), which evolved from a tolerant
laicite to a laicite of interdiction.
It is no longer the
State and the public service which have to be secular, now citizens are
commanded to be so.
This conception of
secularity is indeed in contradiction with the principle of freedom of religion.
As predicted, the
law was the response of the commissions to a social “issue” which is a complete
fabrication. Both commissions have totally ignored the unanimous appeal of the
elected member of the CFCM to be heard, and were also unable to listen to a
single pupil wearing an Islamic veil.
All the
representatives of all religions in France have officially declared that they
were opposed to the adoption of such a law.
Their call will
never be heard by the French deputies, who adopted almost unanimously the law in
a hurry.
After
the adoption of the law, its clear-cut implementation
The 15th
March 2004 law was not examined by the French Constitutional Court because of
the lack of political will.
The ambiguous
writing of the law us hope for a liberal and open minded implementation,
allowing the wearing of discrete religious sings.
It is in fact the
way this law presented by the French diplomacy to foreign governments worried
about it.
The implementation
of this law in September 2004 was violent and clear cut: all religious signs
were banned from state schools, if it was worn by a pupil suspected to be
Muslim.
Headscarves, as
well as hats, berets, and even hair bands were banished from
schools.
Thousands of young
pupils had suddenly to choose between their will to study and their will to
practice their religion. The great majority of them preferred to choose the
humiliation of the constraint rather giving up their
studies.
The Muslims
association put all their resources together to create the 15th March
and Freedom Committee to help the victims of this law.
More than eight
hundred pupils asked for help in 2004.
Those who refused
to take off their veil were insulted sometimes during months, being questioned
every single day, not even allowed to talk to their classmates, obliged to stay
alone during hours in an empty room, with no real teaching
supports.
Most of them
considered the disciplinary committee leading to their exclusion from school as
a relief, regarding the tough and humiliating tings they experience during the
so-called “period of dialogue” conducted by the
administration.
We actually
published a report on those questions which is available.
Muslim associations
have always supported them throughout those difficult times, helping them
carrying their studies at home and to defend their rights on
Court.
It is important to
stress on the fact that in 2004 there was no private school in France able to
receive those pupils who were expelled from state schools.
Nowadays, we have
less than 500 school’s capabilities for a few million Muslim’s
community.
Trusting our
justice, we went to Court to object to the decision of exclusion, but the cases
were systematically rejected.
Then, we introduced
the cases to the European Court of Human Rights which refused, by its decision
of June 30th, 2009 to examine the first case
introduced.
We consider that
this refusal of the ECHR reflects the discrete but very efficient action of our
government, especially through the French President of the Court, Mr Costa, who
declared publicly its hostility against the wearing of Islamic headscarves at
school, before its nomination.
Muslims in France
do not have the capacity to ensure to their children an education in private
schools: where they would be fully accepted, regardless of their religious
believes or practice.
Muslims have choose
the discussion, and use peaceful means offered to any citizen in a democratic
country, but they are facing political leaders who are using bad faith,
manipulating the media and using dishonest ways to deny their freedom of
religion.
As far as it’s
concerned, the 15th March and Freedom Committee refuses to take
religious stances, it role is to defend freedom of religion, letting everyone
choosing his own practice.
The notion of
liberty is indeed the basis of our Republican system, it’s the first word of the
motto of our country: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”.
Epilogue
Two recent
initiatives have led to an increase in Islamophobia and anti Muslim
declarations..
The National
assembly created an information committee on the wearing of integral veil in
France.
The minister of
Integration and national identity launched a “great debate on national
identity”, which in fact flattered nationalism and an old racist background
still existing in the minority of the population.
It is important to
notice that every time the political and media elites rage against Muslims, we
immediately observe a huge increase of assaults against people and goods,
individual, attacks of businesses belonging to Muslims, mosques, and profanation
of graves in cemetery.
It seems like a
minority of racist people understand those initiatives of the government as
promoting them acting out.
We can deplore that
some of those crimes remain unsolved and unpunished.
Conclusion
I’m standing here,
in front of you, to denounce the scapegoat policy that Muslims in France are
suffering from.
The French
government has a large responsibility in the protection of its religious
minorities, I’m asking you to remind it to the French
authorities.
The twentieth
century European history teaches us that we shouldn’t undermine the risks of
such excesses.
I would like to
thank the Islamic Human rights Commission for its support.
Thank you for your
attention.
10:19 PM
Sultan Shahin
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