The situation in France would have been tense after a magazine printed sketches of the Prophet of Islam, the incidents of people being killed and injured in attacks by some Muslim extremists, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements about Islam and Muslims.
On Thursday, at least three people were killed in another attack in the French city of Nice. Police say one of the dead women was beheaded, while the city’s mayor called it ‘Islamo-fascism’.
Amidst this growing tension, freedom of expression, secularism the core values of French society and the attitudes of Muslims are being debated. Some criticize the sketches, while others criticize the incidents of terrorism.
During this time, hate incidents against Muslims have increased, and as a result of the daily deaths of civilians in terrorist attacks, the anger against Muslims in French society is constantly increasing.
Journalist Younis Khan in Paris said that strict measures are being taken by the French government after the murder of a teacher over the issue of sketches of the Prophet (SAW) of Islam.
Due to this whole situation, the gulf between Muslims and the government is increasing and the feeling of insecurity and alienation among Muslims is increasing.
According to French official figures, the number of Muslims in the country is around 6 million, but the number is said to be much higher.
Younis Khan said that most of the common people he tried to talk to were scared and refrained from saying anything.
The few people I spoke to also condemned the sketching and the violence in response. People say that Muslims, like other citizens of France, are normal and peaceful people, but the reaction to sketching the Prophet (SAW) of Islam will increase radicalization, extremism, and intolerance.’
In the Muslim suburbs of Paris, there is an overall atmosphere of fear and anxiety about the future.
Some Muslims have also been detained for commenting on social media about the attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo.
There are some suburbs of Paris where Muslims are the majority. Most of such areas are located in the north of the city. These include Saint-Denis, Lille, Gorges Sarcel, Villers-la-Belle, Marseille, Montfermai, Clichy, Avery, Cray, Clichy-sous-Bois, Gosaville, etc. There has been no increase in police presence in these areas, but people believe that there are more intelligence officers in plain clothes than before.
On September 25, a young man injured two people with a knife attack near the office of Charlie Hebdo, a magazine that publishes cartoons of the Prophet of Islam. The attacker’s name is Ali Hasan and he is said to be from the Kotli Qazi area of Punjab province of Pakistan. He is a resident of the northern part of Paris.
Ali Hassan had also released a video of himself before the attack in which he said that he intended to attack. In the video, he also recited a naat for the leader of a religious organization in Pakistan as his peer and mentor.
The demographic past of France:
Apart from this, some experts also see this situation in the context of French colonialism. Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, and Tunisia are the Muslim territories that have been colonies of France. People from these countries live in France in large numbers, and they constitute the majority of France’s Muslim population. According to many observers, the attitude of the French ruling elite towards these people still reflects the same demographic and colonial thinking.
It is also worth noting that after the Second World War, extreme right-wing extremist and racist parties originated in France.
