The Clash of Religious Versus Secular "Tolatarianisms"

 July 20, 2008

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The French depiction of a Muslim woman’s practice of her faith as “religious totalitarianism” is clashing with France’s own practice of “secular totalitarianism.”  There is no other way to describe it.  The case in point is a female immigrant of Algerian background, Faiza Silmi.  Her “crime” is her incapacity to assimilate into France.  She was denied French citizenship “on the ground that her ’radical’ practice of Islam was incompatible with French values like equality of the sexes.”  This is the first time that citizenship in France has been denied on religious grounds, the apparent allegation being that an applicant is close to “fundamentalist groups.”  It should be noted that this allegation is in violation of religious freedom that is guaranteed in the French constitution.A French “practicing” Muslim female of Algerian background, in an apparent endorsement of the French administrative court’s decision regarding Faiza Silmi, observed, “It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that promotes inequality between the sexes and is totally lacking in democracy.”  However, by extending her logic, it can be argued that the denial of citizenship to Faiza is a demonstration of secular totalitarianism.  
Faiza is reportedly a strict observer of Islamic religious practices, including wearing a niqab (total covering of one’s body).  She is married to a French citizen of Moroccan descent.  They have three children, who were born in France.

French secularism is different from what is practiced in the West, in general.  That tradition is labeled as “laicite.”  It is almost invariably described as a euphemism for secularism, which, in turn, is described as separation of church and state.  In reality, laicite is a doctrine that remains antagonistic toward religions.  It is also antagonistic toward clergy.  However, as a blatant example of a double standard, that doctrine was either ignored, violated, or given a new meaning willfully when French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during a trip to the Vatican in late 2007, emphasized the significance of the French “Christian roots,” by which he meant Catholicism.

 

 

 
 

 

What is important to note here is that by redefining laicite as he did, Sarkozy was also ignoring the multicultural and multi-religious nature of contemporary France.  From the point of view of French Muslims, that was not acceptable.  If the French President was wrongly describing the primarily Catholic nature of France, then they have every right to wear and display their religious symbols—but most important, observe their religious rituals—to remind France that they, too, live in that country; that they are not Catholic; and that they are Muslims. 

Logically speaking, such a demonstration should not cast doubt on their “Frenchness.”  Pluralistic democracies recognize and celebrate cultural plurality without suspecting the loyalty of their citizens for practicing their religion, especially when it is different from the one practiced by the majority.
However, in the post-9/11 environment, when criticism and antagonism toward Islam became a widespread practice in different European countries, France zeroed in on banning religious symbols in the form of wearing a beard, hijab, cross, or Star of David.  Before December 2007, French schools took it upon themselves to impose this rule.  Obviously, since the practice of wearing religious symbols in the form of a beard or hijab has increased in France—where Muslims comprise eight percent of the population—they have been the chief targets of strict enforcement of the French laicite-driven preference of banning religious symbols.
In order to fully understand this secular totalitarianism, one has to look at the reaction of the so-called enlightened French media whose endless analyses of the Faiza story is laden with their ignorance-driven stereotyping of the Algerian immigrant, whom they do not know and did not meet.

Regarding her treatment by the French media, Faiza stated in an interview, “they say I am under my husband’s command and that I am a recluse.  They say I wear a niqab because my husband told me to.”  She added, “I want to tell them: It is my choice.  I take care of my children and I leave the house when I please. I have my own car. I do the shopping on my own. Yes, I am a practicing Muslim, I am orthodox. But is that not my right?”

The practice of religious orthodoxy, per se, may not be a problem if it is not characterized by antagonism, if not downright hostility, toward other religions.  Unfortunately, all religious orthodoxies are guilty of having this trait.  In this regard, the Muslims of France—much as Muslims of the entire world—have to conduct a lot of soul-searching and debating, with a view to finding fresh and current reinterpretations of Islam.

It is the duty of the French and other Western governments to create a proper socio-political milieu in which Muslims can conduct their own debates regarding Islam, and arrive at their own conclusions.  However, another vital requirement is governmental policies that are fully aimed at integrating Muslims in Western polities and culture by, first of all, improving their economic lot.  If Muslims in the West are marginalized economically and politically, then they have no basis to develop a sense of belonging to their current places of residence.  Consider the following observation made by a Pew survey conducted in 2006:

French Muslims do share many opinions with their co-religionists in neighboring countries. Primary among them is concern about joblessness. More than half of French Muslims (52%) say they are very worried about unemployment among Muslims — the primary complaint of last fall’s rioters — and an additional 32% say they are somewhat concerned. These levels are comparable to those expressed by Spanish, German and, to a slightly lesser degree, by British Muslims. (Curiously, among French Muslims, only 48% of those under age 35 say they are very worried about unemployment compared with 59% of their elders.) 
 
 

 

In July 2008—in the global prevalence of triple crises related to oil and food prices and economic downturn—the plight of Muslims in the West is bound to be affected even more severely than it has been in the past.


The interpretations related to religious orthodoxy or the Salafi School is just one interpretation of Islam, which is anything but a monolithic religion.  There are several other moderate interpretations—for which there are ample Quranic and canonical evidence in the Muslim Fiqh—that ought to be incessantly debated.  Muslims in the West cannot live in isolation of or antagonism toward the West and its cultural, social, and political values.  Thus, it is incumbent upon them to evolve new paradigms of moderation and accommodation, which are also powerful traits of Islam.   

The requirement of the day, both for Western governments and for orthodox Muslims, is the abandonment of the practices of secular and religious totalitarianisms, and a proactive and symbiotic quest for moderation and tolerance.  Muslims alone cannot be fairly accused of creating cleavages and schisms.  The Western governments may not be innocent parties in this episode.  The essence of conflict resolution is the quest of common ground on the part of both parties. 

Faiza has the right to practice Islam the way she wishes.  However, she must also realize that, as long as the manner of her observance appears strange to others, it is quite natural on the part of her critics to view her with suspicion.  She does not necessarily have to change her practice of Islam to please others.  What she must do, however, is to explain that her manner of observance is not an outcome of her husband’s command, but a matter of her personal choice.  The Quranic verse—that there is no compulsion in religion—must be fully explained by Muslims to their Western counterparts.  That might be the best way to avert future clashes of totalitarianisms in France and elsewhere in the West. 

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