A recent conference of French Muslims reveals that this group is increasingly pressing for mainstream acceptance while experiencing divisions within their own ranks.
In early May about 75,000 people — the highest number ever — visited the annual gathering of Muslims in France near Paris. There are today some 17 million Muslims in Western Europe, possibly more than 5 million of them living in France. An increasing number of these are second or third generation residents, holding French citizenship.
While their parents and grandparents had not planned to stay in France for life, they now see it as their home. Especially among younger people, French is increasingly used as the main language of communication. Moreover, Muslim organizations represented at the gathering strongly insisted on the compatibility between their Muslim faith and French political order. There was an obvious concern to show that Muslims want to become citizens like other immigrants. Yet the wider Muslim world was not lost from sight; the Palestinian issue was present everywhere.
The gathering offered several indications of the vitality of Islam in France. One of them was the dozens of new books published by French Muslim publishing houses since the beginning of the year. The thirst for a better knowledge of Islam can also be seen in the creation of several institutes teaching Islam (often in the form of week-end courses) over the past ten years. The increasing number of girls wearing the Islamic scarf — in a country where this is opposed in the public school system — represents as well an affirmation of Muslim identity.
Le Monde newspaper (May 12-13) reports that research by two French sociologists finds that Islam has become the primary form of identity among young French Muslims, though this does not necessarily involve a strong Islamic practice or knowledge. Worth noticing too is the growth of Muslim student associations: the Etudiants Musulmans de France (Muslim Students of France), with branches in a dozen French universities, has seen a marked increase in the percentage of votes received at student elections (around 7 percent at the national level at the last elections of student representatives).
However, Islam is still far from presenting a united front in France. The Union of Islamic Organizations in France — which organized the gathering — has been leading an effort for more unity and consultation among Muslims. Elections of a representative body of Muslims who could function as partners in discussions with French political authorities was postponed twice (once not to interfere with French legislative elections), with no new date being set at the time of writing this report.
The Great Mosque of Paris and some other Muslim institutions in France consider the elections as premature and claim that “fundamentalist” groups could take advantages of those elections. The Union is seen as close to the Muslim Brotherhood, while the Great Mosque of Paris is said to maintain good relations with authorities in Muslim countries such as Algeria.
The rivalry between different tendencies in Islam is complicated by the interference of foreign powers as well as of French political interests. However, it is highly likely that considerable changes will take place among French Muslims in the years to come, possibly playing a crucial role in the emergence of what some have called a Euro-Islam.”
— By Jean-François Mayer, RW contributing editor and director of The Website Religioscope, http://www.religioscope