French politics and society is a funny thing. Often bubbling under the surface, not as boring and ritual as in Germany or Scandinavia, yet not as spectacular and exciting as the United Kingdom or the United States, it sits like a volcano ready to erupt at any point – and when it does erupt, it erupts like nowhere else. With a style of which only they are capable, France has found itself the centre of the world’s attention in the week before a presidential election in the USA, and how.
France has found itself the epicentre of an escalating war of words (and not just words) with the Muslim world. After satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo took the decision to republish the cartoon of the prophet Muhammad which served as the precursor to the terrorist attack at their offices in 2015, they were subjected to intense criticism from Muslims both inside and outside of the country.
Shortly after the cartoons were re-published, there was another terrorist attack outside the Charlie Hebdo offices. French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to this by introducing a new law, which, if passed, would give the French state sweeping new powers to intervene in mosques and Muslim communities. He also refused to condemn the cartoons, with many in French society even supporting them. What followed was more terrorism, more words from Macron, and here we are today.
It goes without saying that terrorism – the murders and assaults which have happened in France over the last month or so – is the worst kind of evil, carried out by only the most depraved individuals. Emmanuel Macron’s actions, however, have emboldened these depraved individuals, and offended pretty much the entire Muslim world. You see, France is a fiercely secular state, and one that in general tries to keep religion as far away from politics as possible. It is also one which values freedom of speech and the right to offend very highly. These are values with which I inherently agree, but Macron and modern French society seem to have got muddled on this.
A secular state is using legislation to take aim at one religion in particular
Possessing the right to offend people does not mean that it is right to offend people. Charlie Hebdo, while perfectly within their rights in a free and fair country to publish what they want, are being deliberately offensive towards Islam and Muslims. That is not right. Of course, it shouldn’t be punishable by public execution, but it’s not right. It is not difficult to say that Charlie Hebdo have a right to publish whatever they want, but that publishing cartoons of the prophet Muhammad is unnecessarily offensive.
Macron and France’s subsequent actions, too, have not helped the situation. A secular state using legislation to take aim at one religion in particular is almost unprecedented, and in my opinion goes against that very secularism. The French government getting into the business of one religion in particular should be alarming to us all. Where are these measures for the other religions present in France? French society, too, lifting these cartoons up as if they are acts of heroism is somewhat concerning. Why is offending Muslims such a cause for celebration to them?
What’s going on here, as many in the Muslim world have already pointed out, is islamophobia. It is discrimination against one group of people, and it is wrong. It is also counterproductive for France – sure, it gets its self-congratulation at this point, but Macron is somewhat playing with fire here. Muslims boycotting French products won’t really make a massive dent in the French economy, but it shows the sentiment is real. Macron putting himself on a collision course with Muslim world leaders such as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a far more experienced and calculated political operator than he is, is not going to be helpful for him.
Finally, the course which France has set for itself puts fuel on the fire in the minds of the most depraved and the most unhinged among us. Those using Islam as the excuse for their perverted worldviews and actions are only emboldened when a government throws the whole religion under the bus. Thanks to Emmanuel Macron’s recent words and actions, France is now less safe than it was before, and he must wear that on his conscience.
