Report / OCTOBER 2013
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ORIW: Report on Islamophobia and Racism in European
French-speaking countries (France, Belgium, Switzerland,
Luxembourg) for October 2013
According to a survey for the autumn universities of the International League against Racism and
Anti-Semitism (from 11th to 13th October), French people find it more difficult to be a Muslim
nowadays (61%) or North African origin (56%) than thirty years ago.
However, they suppose that it is easier to be Black (61%), Jewish (70%) or Asian (79%) today1.
An international organization Amnesty International, which fights for Human Rights and respect of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, criticized politicians for their inaction regarding the
growth of Islamophobia in Europe.
Website of the magazine Jeune Afrique by examining the content of the covers of French magazines
in recent months reported that the majority of them write captions on Islam and Islamophobia in
order to attract the readers' attention. According to this website, the case of French magazine Charli
Hebdo is not the first one when European editions that attack Muslims rather aim to increase their
circulation.
Meanwhile, France is the country with one of the biggest Muslim community in Europe. According
to the Pew Forum Religion and Public Life research data of 2010 in France there are 3,5 million of
Muslims (~5,7% of population), in Belgium there are 638,000 of Muslim people (~6% of
population), 433,000 in Switzerland (~5,7% of national population) and 13,000 in Luxembourg
which makes ~2,7% of population.
According to the Ministry of the Interior 236 anti-Semitic cases were registered in France in 2012,
which is comparing to the last year a 24% decrease. Concerning manifestations of islamophobia
there were 108 cases, it is a scaring 35% increase comparing to the last year. Still, there are a lot of
other different numbers according to non-governmental structures. Collectif Against Islamophobia
in France, for example, identified 469 islamophobic acts in 20122. According to the Ministry,
chances of a black person for the ID-control rise 6 times, and 8 times for a originally maghrebian
person.
I. October Islamophobia cases
Survey Opinionway, 7 October 2013
CCIF: Annual report 2013 on the values of 2013 (
http://www.islamophobie.net/sites/default/files/file_attach/RAPPORT-ANNUEL-CCIF-2013.pdf )
1
2
Islamophobia is a fear of something unknown popularized by the interested groups. This fear bears
its fruits and causes the reaction in society.
In some cases there are hooligan violations of the society order, willingness to be different, to be
superior.
Racist slogans and swastikas have been inscribed on the walls of two mosques in Besançon
(Doubs). Three swastikas, the inscriptions "France to the French", "Vive la France", "Arabs out"
and "Death to Muslims" were drawn in black paint on a mosque of Planoise district. A swastika and
the words "Vive le FN" drawn in black paint were also discovered on the wall of the Souna mosque
in the district Saint-Claude, France Bleu Besançon reported.
In Nime the home of the President of the National Observatory against Islamophobia of the French
Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) was covered with racist insults during the night from
Wednesday, October 30, to Thursday, October 31. Among the inscriptions painted on the walls of
his property there were "Heil Hitler", "Islam out", "Arabs out", "SS", swastikas and Catholic
crosses.
Sometimes there are serious acts of aggression entailing grave consequences.
Five members of a family in Charleroi, Belgium undressed and beat a young Turk 17, forced him to
drink beer allegedly mixed with urine and eat pork. And now the five family members are brought
before the criminal court of Charleroi for inhumane treatment, imprisonment, beatings, threats and
indecent assault on a young Turk.
According to IINA the incident occurred Monday, October 28th in Troyes in the shopping mall
Leader Price. The authors of this long assault firstly provoked and humiliated the victim by
disparaging remarks about her hijab and her children were present during the altercation. After
heated exchange, two women passed to the physical violation to the mother who was punched to the
head in front of her four children. The attackers continued to violate their victim on the ground in a
vulnerable position until the intervention of the store manager, passersby and the arrived police. The
hijab was torn off; the assault was so violent that the victim came out with cuts on hands, multiple
bruises and temple deformed by beats.
The issue of veils is one of the most prevalent in the debates on the Muslim faith.
The law of 15 March 2004 prohibiting the wearing of "conspicuous" religious clothes and symbols
in school. The law of 2010, implemented in April 2011, prohibits the wearing of the niqab in public
places.
Recently it was proposed in a report written by High Council for Integration (HCI - Haut Conseil à
l'intégration) to Observatory of Secularism (Observatoire de la laïcité) about banning headscarves
in higher education boards and universities in France. The president of Secularism Observatory,
Jean-Louis Bianco, mentioned that High Council for Integration’s legal task was over and its report
is not binding at all. There weren’t any restrictions neither in higher education institutions nor in
universities. Observatory of secularism, which was established not long ago, wants to ban head
scarf and turban in universities. So the new debates are provoked.
Head scarf issues have occupied the agenda in Belgium for a while. This year in Belgium, the ban
of carrying religious symbols entered force in state schools in the beginning of new school year.
241 schools which are located in Flemish Ministry of Education announced not accepting students
wearing head scarves. The ban refers to not only the students but also to the school staff. Recently
the General Christian Union (ACV) in Belgium claimed to ban head scarves in public service units
for all public servicers in Brussels-Capital Region. The minister of public affairs in Brussels, Bruno
De Lille (Green Party), expressed that that requirement is shameful and humiliating.
The debate about the burqa ignites in Switzerland. Elected deputies of the Swiss People's Party
threaten to launch a popular initiative to put the ban in the Federal Constitution. In response, the
socialist women propose to punish those who force Muslim women to hide their faces.
A case on this subject very popular in media is the process of kindergarten Baby Loup. Ms. Fatima
Afif, an employee of the kindergarten, back from maternity leave, announced her intention to keep
her headscarf at work against the opinion of the director of the kindergarten. The director considers
it to be contrary to the principle of secularism in France, in particular the application of the law on
religious symbols in public schools which motivated dismissal of Mrs. Afif. On 19 March 2013, the
Supreme Court cancels the dismissal of the employee. The case returns Thursday, October 17 to the
Court of Appeal of Paris. François Falletti, a Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal of Paris,
justifies dismissal and believes that "the rules of the kindergarten can pose restrictions regarding the
missions of its employees, who work with children and multicultural public." According to him, it
appears that" the ban on wearing the Islamic scarf to its employees imposed by the organization
Baby Loup is justified by the nature of its business and the public which is carried out" . Against
this interpretation of the law, the Supreme Court pointed out in March that it was a private
kindergarten and that the dismissal was "discrimination because of religious convictions",
concluding that it should be "declared cancelled".
The Defender of the Rights recognized in their survey the criteria related to the origins and skin
color as discriminative factors in employment. The "being of foreign origin or nationality" (71%),
"having a foreign-sounding name" (70%) or "to be a person of color" (66%) is considered
inconvenient. What is interesting is that the origin is seen as a particularly negative factor for
getting a job than during the career. So once getting acquainted with something "strange" the
society removes it from the “suspicions” agenda.
Another big debate is another subject of the manifestation and the practice of Muslim worship. At
the heart of the business district in west Nice worship and cultural association la Plaine wants to
establish, in a building owned by a Saudi businessman since 2002, a prayer center which would be
capable to accommodate 1000 worshipers on its 753 m2. The project of the center En-Nour (“light”
in Arabic) provides creation of a library, a room for tutoring and teaching the Arabic language, a
cafeteria, and prayer spaces for men and women. What causes the wrath of the Muslims is the
decision of the Mayor of Nice to include in the agenda of the municipal council on the 11 October a
resolution to declare a "public purpose" of this place, assigned for the mosque in order to transform
it into a kindergarten. Mr. Christian Estrosi asked the Ministry of the Interior for an investigation of
the project funding. What is needed to be taken into account is the fact that according to leMonde.fr
the mayor has already expressed himself against the Muslim spirit in his city: "As long as I am the
mayor of Nice the Muslim religious and cultural center En- Nour will not open!"
II. Eid al-Adha
October is very important for Muslims because it is the second of two religious holidays celebrated
by Muslims worldwide each year, Feast of the Sacrifice.
In relation to this there are many positive points. This year there were 62 licensed abattoirs across
France against 42 last year3. On the 15 October, for the first time in the history of the Republic, an
acting Prime Minister went to the Great Mosque of Paris on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. In a brief
statement, Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke to millions of his fellow worshipers of what he called "a great
religion of France" introducing them to his wishes. He reminded them of "the government's
commitment to uphold freedom of conscience and freedom of worship, which are among the bases
of our nation (...) in accordance with the laws of the Republic, secularism and convictions of
others."
But still there were a lot of abuses on this occasion. For example, in Mechelen, Belgium, the
municipality of the city had decided to take a 15 € tax from Muslims who sacrifice an animal during
Eid al-Adha. Muslims have been shocked by the decision to pay to fulfill their religious duty. The
vice president of Mechelen Municipality, who is in the Flemish Nationalist Party, defended their
decision and said that Muslims must contribute to cover expenses during their religious duty
because of the expenditures that municipality makes for Muslims’ duty and that is not a task of
municipality. The Mechelen mosques were called for boycotting Muslims, so they had to figure out
ways to sacrifice abroad of Belgium.
3
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr
The French film icon Brigitte Bardot has launched a major anti-Muslim campaign during the days
of the festival. Making animal rights her own combat, she has continued to vilify the practice. In an
open letter released on October 15th, she screams again about outrage and attacks the Muslims.
The French extreme right party National Front launched a major offensive campaign. For example,
Christine Tassin said that "Islam is a rubbish," the day of Eid al-Adha on 15 October. These
remarks filmed were transmitted in Belfort where an approved temporary abattoir for the ritual
sacrifice of animals was installed. This was then the subject of a violent smear campaign by the
National Front as well as Brigitte Bardot, who described the ritual of Eid as "genocide".
In conclusion we will present the results of a survey. A majority of French people consider that
racism increases. Thirty years after the march for equality and against racism called "marche des
beurs" and the creation of SOS Racisme in the process, 74% of French people consider racism as a
"danger" to the society, but same proportion according to a survey OpinionWay for the
International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Lycra) on October 7 does not trust antiracist associations. 55% of French people consider "important" the role of anti-racist associations,
they are still ranked lower than school, the media, the world of sports and political figures. More
severe, " 74 % of respondents answer poorly known', 86 % are not interested in their work and 70%
consider them 'not effective '." So it's up to us to draw the attention of the society on Islamophobic
abuses, propaganda and provocations. It is our role; it is the role of each of us.