French secularism

[morgankane01]

@martin-peter-clarke

Laïcité is its own worst enemy. Brittle. Muslim women being legally persecuted for what they wear at the sea side. A Muslim woman in Bordeaux I recall, being granted citizenship and being publicly abused by the mayor for not being able to shake hands with him.

@morgankane01

One must absolutely differentiates 3 terms:

-Islam which is a religion

-Muslims who are people, believers in Islam,

-Islamists who are people, integrists muslims, with a political project, to institute an islamic state in France.

One may criticize and dislike Islam as an ideology, with the scientific meaning of the world, not the usual one, it is not racisme.

One may not dislike Muslims as people, it would be racism. To essentialize them would be the first step.

One must fight Islamists as bearers of a totalitarian project, not because they are Muslims.

What is secularism?

It is the separation of church and state, no more no less.

The French state does not recognize or funds any religion and protects religious freedom. But the religions must respect the secular laws.

Everyone is free to practice one’s religion, but state and civil service must stay neutral and are not allowed to display signs or symbols of faith.

Secularism was thought in France during the Age of Enlightenment and fought for during the XIXth century to protect the state from the Catholic Church. The separation was implemented by a law in 1905, supported by the Jews and the no Catholic Christians. The fight was harsh and a break was created between church and state. The rift was healed during WWI.

The law of 1905 is a law protecting freedom and that’s why the extremists cannot live with it, such as it is.

Nowadays, in France, the situation is very difficult for many reasons. I will explain some of them.

1. In the past, secularism was supported by the left and is still in part. But the right and the ultra-right use the word as a tool against Islam. More, at the same time, they support Catholicism, in ways which violate secularism, for instance setting Christmas cribs in public buildings where any had never been seen since a very long time.

2. Many left leaning people have renounced secularism as a western, imperialistic, discriminating value. That’s pure madness when, for instance Lebanese people fight for it in a multi-confessional country.

3. Extremist religious people, Islamists, and I use the word Islamists, not Muslims, but also Ultra-right Catholics and others fight secularism and fight to implement the respect of their values. When the same sex wedding was allowed in France, there were demonstrations uniting them, denouncing the homosexual danger and asking the homosexual be burnt.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims respect secularism and obey the laws, but a minority acts.

4. Islamists fight to implement the sharia in some districts and try to control them, becoming the only legitimate authorities. For instance, there was in a district of a north French town a public multimedia center, managed by the township, with books and activities. Everyone was welcome, and every one worked beside everyone independently from age sex or religion.

5. In fact Ultra-right Catholics and Islamists prepare a war and are trying to recruit people, using the propaganda of the other side to recruit.

There were riots, organized by Islamists, under the pretext that some staff members were homosexual and were contaminating the children. The mayor came to exchange and had to flee. The center was closed, staff members’ safety being compromised.

In hospitals, they asked for a strict sex separation, asking that only men care for men and only women care for women. It was denied but the matter is constant. In schools, teachers who teach natural science and history are insulted and so, children opposing the religious text to the teaching and accusing the teacher of lying.

Now about the incidents cited by martin-peter-clarke.

“Muslim women being legally persecuted for what they wear at the sea side.”

That’s not secularism, that’s racism and stupidity.

“A Muslim woman in Bordeaux I recall, being granted citizenship and being publicly abused by the mayor for not being able to shake hands with him.”

I would not have abused the woman but I would not have been happy. For the mayor to shake hands with her was to welcome her as a French citizen, and she rejected this welcome.

Around me, I have Muslims men and women. A niece of my wife has converted and wed a Muslim, the companion of my daughter is a Muslim and so. They shake hands of the people of opposite sex and give them “bisous” (traditional light kisses) when the situation calls for it. Some cover their hairs, some don’t. 

The matter is that Islamists have a very special idea about women. In fact they see them as inferior, polluting and dangerous. Many ultra-orthodox religious people share these views. 

In France, one of our value is that people are equal in rights, independently of their sex, among other characteristics. Islamists negate this idea and this woman negated it. Religion is a pretext to justify Misogyny. 

I give an example. If someone create a religion and tells that god has decided that women must not go out from their homes without being cuffed and chained, would religion justify it?