PARIS,
December 6, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Thousands of French revert to
Islam every year, but not all of them declare their new faith
outright, fearing discrimination at home or work and a stereotypical
view that reverts tilt towards extremism.
"Most
of the new Muslim reverts in France think twice before making public
their new belief least they could be discriminated against by their
families or colleagues," Maqali Snebat, the media officer of the
League of French Muslim Women, told IslamOnline.net Tuesday, December
6.
She
cited the case of football superstar Nicolas Anelka, who kept secret
his reversion to Islam for four years.
Anelka,
who played for Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool
and Manchester City, eventually had to leave for the Turkish league
after increasing harassment.
Some
imams in France have ruled that it was permissible for new reverts to
conceal their faith if they feared rejection from family members and
colleagues or security harassment.
Many
Arabs and Muslims were even forced to change their names and hide
their roots to spare themselves police and employers' discrimination.
A
Sorbonne research released earlier in the year by the French
Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion
represent an obstacle to jobseekers.
France
is home to some six to seven Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in
Europe.
Proud
Muslims
But
Snebat, who reverted to Islam nine years ago, advised reverts to be
proud of their Islam and lift the tight lid on their rituals and
practices.
"There
are many examples of French Muslim reverts, who command a great deal
of respect in one of Europe’s secular fortresses," she said.
Eric
Geofroy, she cited an example, is a distinguished professor in the
Strasbourg University and is being held in high esteem by his
colleagues.
"He
has gained the respect of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who
offered him an honorary membership in the French Council for the
Muslim Faith (CFCM)," Snebat said.
Many
French Muslims have set a good example to younger generations and the
French in general like superstar comedian Jamel Debbouze.
"I’m
proud of being Muslim. I fast the holy month of Ramadan, never drink
alcohol and do not smoke. I never thought about doing drugs,"
Debbouze always repeats in TV interviews.
Extremism
Snebat,
however, regretted that the French have summed up Muslim reverts in
Muriel Degauque, a Belgian woman who recently blew herself up in an
Iraqi police patrol, and Patrique Cherif, who went to Afghanistan
after his reversion and was killed there.
"We
cannot place all new Muslim reverts in one basket," she said.
"It is a matter of an individual choice whether to go to the
extreme or opt for moderation."
Called
by French and Belgian media as "la kamikaze Belge," Degauque
left the impression that all Muslim reverts exhibit extremist
tendencies.
Pascal
Maylos, the head of the French Information Service, said in a recent
interview with Le Monde that out of thousands of French who
reverted to Islam this year, some 1,600 had joined extremist groups.
A
further cause for concern is a recent study which put at 22 the number
of French fighting with the Iraqi resistance, seven of them were
confirmed killed in attacks and three in US custody.
A
study by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS) said the US occupation of Iraq has radicalized Arabs
and Muslims to join Al-Qaeda.
Saying
that foreign fighters represent less than five percent of the
Iraqi resistance, the study said most of them were motivated by
"revulsion at the idea of an Arab land being occupied by a
non-Arab country."
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