Charlie Hebdo attack was carried out by al-Qaeda followers, who now see themselves as rivals to the Islamic State !
A deadly attack on the offices of
satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo and subsequent manhunt and
hostage crisis has, yet again, focused attention on France’s Muslim
minority. The French far right, known for its anti-immigrant stance, is
saying that its warnings about Islamist extremism have been proven
right.
Yet for all the attention to them,
discovering the exact number of Muslims in France is a surprisingly
complicated task – the French government doesn’t allow censuses that ask
people about their religious beliefs, meaning that estimates have to
come from independent sources.
One widely cited study by Pew from 2010
showed estimated that France had 4.7 million Muslims. At 7.5 percent of
the population, this meant France had the largest Muslim population in
Western Europe (for reference, in the same year Pew estimated that the
Muslim population in the United States made up 0.8 percent of the
total). Other estimates vary from around 5 percent to 12.
French census data can’t tell us where
France’s Muslims live, but some past studies have put the percentage of
Muslims in Paris as high as 15 percent. What census data can show is
that around 9 percent of the population around Paris is made up of
non-EU immigrants, though that number is likely influenced by other
factors as well (Paris is a major international city, of course).
Whatever the actual size, France’s
Islamic minority has become a subject of concern and sometimes
fear-mongering. One online poll conducted by Ipsos Mosi last year found
that the average person in France thought that Muslims made up 31
percent of the population in the country, rather than 7.5 percent. As political scientist Steve Saideman puts it on his blog :
“It is important to understand the real numbers, as fears of swamping
generate or exacerbate xenophobia, and in pretty much every case, the
populations of Muslims are so small that they are politically
powerless.”
And when it comes to levels of extremism
within France’s Islamic community, attitudes are again hard to
ascertain. One recent poll suggested that 1 in 6 French citizens
supported the Islamic State militant organization. When examined
closely, its findings seemed incoherent and possibly flawed.
(Incidentally, the earliest indications suggest that the Charlie Hebdo
attack was carried out by al-Qaeda followers, who now see themselves as
rivals to the Islamic State).
A more reassuring poll from 2006 found
that 73 percent of French Muslims were “somewhat” or “extremely”
concerned about the threat of Islamist extremism. In 2011, Gallup found
that 56 percent of French Muslims felt Western societies “respected”
Muslim societies. Given the variety of different backgrounds French
Muslims come from, attempting to singularly define their positions may
ultimately a difficult, even impossible task.
Perhaps most worrying in the current
climate has been the relatively large number of French nationals who are
believed to have gone to fight in Syria in 2014. Estimates put these at
several hundred. You can see how that compares below.
France’s Muslim minority may be
disproportionately represented in some areas of French society (in 2008
it was estimated that between 60 and 70 percent of prison inmates were
Muslims). It’s worth remembering, however, that two of most famous victims of extremist terrorism in recent years were themselves French Muslims : Imad Ibn-Ziaten, a soldier shot dead in Toulouse in 2012, and police officer Ahmed Merabet.
The French Media refuse to report on the anti-Islamization protests in the streets of Paris.
Generation Identitaire is a group of young people protesting rising Islamization and the expansion of mosques in France.
Adam Taylor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post.
Originally from London, he studied at the University of Manchester and Columbia University.
Originally from London, he studied at the University of Manchester and Columbia University.
Source : Washington Post
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