Dissecting Islamophobia In France

By: Kayla Anais & Christiane Burkhardt

The following article is an op-ed piece written by two of our Wolfpak Press Writers

Historically, Muslims first came to France following France's colonization of North Africa in mid-late 1800s. By the 21st century France had the largest population of Muslims in the Western world. Within the past decades, Islamophobia in France has continued to be a rampant issue. The word Islamophobia itself is up to interpretation amongst French people, its true definition is “dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force.” Some claim it comes from fear of Islam while others say it’s blatant discrimination against Muslims. Either way, hate against French Muslims is an issue that must continue to be addressed.

In our opinion, the origin of these anti-Islamic thoughts stem from ignorance, lack of education, and manipulation making a pathway towards anti Islamic speech or actions. Some French like to use devastating terrorist attacks as a reason to shamelessly continue the discrimination and poor treatment of Muslims in France, who are equally just as french as them.

Many statistics show that public violence against Muslims increased dramatically after any sort of incident or attacks with a perpetrator that just happened to be Muslim. For example, in 2020 a beheading of a French teacher, Samuel Paty, by a Muslim refugee sparked many protests across the country for justice of the loved teacher. Unfortunately, this isolated attack was followed by a spark of violence against Muslims, as just a few days later two Muslim women were stabbed several times by the Eiffel tower.

Women are more likely to fall victim to hate crimes or discrimination simply because they are easier to differentiate then Muslim men because of their hijab. France has an troubled history with attempting to control Muslim women’s attire, dating all the way back to 1989. Muslim women today still face mass limitations to their freedom simply because of their appearance, they are consistently discriminated against by the French government in numerous forms such as voting in favor of banning hijabs for girls under 18 in public places, banning burkinis, and facing exclusion in social media. French Muslim women are being dehumanized, the pain they’ve endured is utterly unjust but the hate they receive goes without or has very minimal repercussions from the French government.

What not only French people need to understand, but also people around the globe: is that the beheading of the French teacher and the stabbing of the two Muslim women were BOTH horrible tragedies. There was no justification for the murder of the French teacher, there was also no justification for the brutal stabbing of those two innocent women. They both had families, friends, and lives. The victims, Kenza and Amel weren't any less French than Samuel Paty, simply practiced a different religion. People shouldn’t have to pay because of one single person's acts who happened to come from the same race/religion/country/background as them.

It is important to address a common, ignorant mindset of these French perpetuators of racism and Islamophobic hate . Not all, but too many, believe that in places like America one can be Asian American, African American, Arab American. Meaning many people from different backgrounds can hold the title “American”. Yet in France you are either French, or not French. Meaning, unless you were born there, have a French parent, or some direct way connecting you to the country by blood and/or birth you will never really be considered to be truly French. This directly relates to French citizens feeling alienated from their culture because maybe their parents were refugees, or they themselves were not born there or because they are Muslim. Some French utilize that as an excuse to mistreat others or carry out racist acts .This mindset is extremely toxic and is something that needs to be changed, although it will take a lot of unlearning and exposure to different sources, it is crucial in taking one step closer to fighting Islamophobia in France. One's religion doesn’t determine how “French” one truly is.