Islamic Sepratism Bill In France

Emmanuel Macron has proposed a new bill which seeks to target religious separatism. The French president took aim at radical Islam, in communities where he said religious laws are taking precedence over civil ones. This decision comes five year after the infamous Paris massacre where the office of satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked by a group of terrorists for reprinting of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. After this incident a sharp rise took place in the terrorist attacks in France; the most current being of two weeks ago.

France plans to introduce the bill next year, which if passed, would empower the authorities to:

1. Shut down associations and schools that “indoctrinate” children

2. Monitor foreign investments in religious organizations in France

3. Improve public services in poor suburbs

The bill has been long awaited by French residents especially the conservative ones but it also has stirred fear in the minds of the Muslim citizens and activists. Activists fear that Islamophobia is becoming banal to the point it becomes normal while Muslims fear their worship places being controlled and taken away from them. France also banned the use of veils in 2010, after which an idea of French Islam is emerging.

“In a context where inter-community tensions are rising, Macron knows he is walking on eggshells,” wrote the regional newspaper Le Republicain Lorrain, summing up the president's challenge in a recent editorial.

The centrist government of Macron is trying hard to reduce the extremism rising in France without alienating its Muslim population. Although the bill risks escalating tensions between Muslim groups in France and authorities; Only time will tell what affects this bill has on France, the problem of extremism and its citizen.