The New Normal: Government-Sanctioned Islamophobia in France France has been constantly attacked for preaching secularism and freedom of expression while simultaneously marginalizing the Muslim community. A catalyst for this uptake of restrictive policies was the 9/11 attack. It led to the banning of veils and niqabs in France, blatantly displaying a sense of deep-rooted communalism that has been prevalent for at least a decade: an attitude that is not going to disappear anytime soon.
29
In fact, the news has been flooded with the announcement of the partial approval of banning minors from wearing hijabs in public this month, which is only a small aspect of the separatism law that was passed in the Senate. The law additionally outlines the following: homeschooling will be severely limited, religious practices will be subject to serious oversight, and stringent measures will be imposed in order to reduce the prevalence of forced marriages. While at first glance this seems rather beneficial to the country, the debates and agreements that allowed such a law to be passed must be scrutinized. President Emmauel Macron said that this law is aimed at "free[ing] Islam in France from foreign influences" (euronews), suggesting that people who pratice Islam are forced to abide by the religion’s rules and are oppressed. President Macron even stated that young Muslim girls are not subject to proper education since they are forced to take religious classes.
