Yesterday, France’s parliament passed “Republican Principles” legislation consisting of 51 articles to curb Islamic terrorism in France. Over the years, France has received more Muslim Arab immigrants than most European nations. Thus, France’s population is 8% Muslim. As a result, France has suffered more from domestic, Islamic terrorism than most European countries.
France is well known as a nation that prides itself for its governmental secularism. Thus, France has a strong separation of politics and religion. Islam historically views politics and its religion as necessarily intertwined. France describes itself as an “indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic.”
Without mentioning Islam or Muslims in this new legislation, it consists of 51 articles for the purpose of curbing domestic, Islamic terrorism. The most debated of these articles was about homeschooling restrictions. France claims Muslims homeschooling their children causes further “separatism” that contributes to Islamic fundamentalism if not terrorism. France therefore wants its Muslim citizens to be more integrated into its society. But Muslims usually settle on the fringes of French society, and they are relatively poor, all of which contributes to their isolation from the general population.
France’s Prime Minister Jean Castex said of this legislation today that it “is not a text against religions, not against the Muslim religion in particular.”
I maintain that western, democratic governments should focus on Islam’s religious text, the Qur’an, as a fundamental cause of some Islamic terrorism. That is, many Islamic terrorists adhere strongly to the Qur’an with a literal interpretation of it. With this viewpoint, it is questionable if Islam can rightly be regarded as a peaceful religion.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In