PARIS, May 9, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The unprecedented turnout of second and third generation French Muslims has given this year's Paris-le-Bourget conference a new look.

Over the past four days, they came in droves to the annual gala, going through a miscellany of books and items on display and attending brainstorming seminars on pressing issues like integration, patriotism and secularism.

Young women with their unmistakable hijabs, some in three colors of the French flags, and enthusiastic young men engaged in lively open-day activities - interrupted only for prayers - demonstrated the balance they are striking between life and religion.

The four-day Bourget conference, the biggest Muslim convention in Europe, was opened on Friday, May 5.

Last year, more than 150,000 Muslims from across Europe attended the conference, up from the previous year's 120,000.

Many high school graduates were grateful to the detailed presentation of the Muslim Students in France on colleges and universities that suit them best.

The pavilion of the French Muslim Youths (JMF) attracted many youths, all in their 20s, thanks partly to the presence of Hassan Aqonsi, an emblematic suburbanite with his famous "where there's a will, there's a way" mantra.

They listened attentively to Aqonsi encouraging them to prove their mettle as being part and parcel of society.

"If you remain motionless, beware that others are busy moving ahead," he advised young French Muslims, saying the Bourget was an ample opportunity to launch initiatives.

The number of Muslims in France exceeds six millions, representing 10% of the population, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.

Youths listen attentively to charismatic Aqonsi.

JMF head Abdel Wahab Beqly said his group has made impressive strides in helping Muslim youths reconcile their faith with secular France.

"Integration has been a rallying call over the past ten years," he told IslamOnline.net.

Established in 1993, the JMF currently has 15 chapters nationwide in addition to eight others under construction.

Displaying sportswear produced by his organization and carrying its acronym, Beqly said they have been instilling a sense of patriotism in young Muslims.

"We tell them they should be proud of their fathers who co-laid the cornerstone of this country and made great sacrifices," he added.

The Muslim activist also noted that they have played a pivotal role in calming down angry youths of immigrant origin who took to the streets last year to protest years of marginalization and discrimination at workplace.

"We launched a campaign themed 'Success Despite Exclusion', which sought to convince those frustrated youths to stop seeing themselves as victims of racism and show the other their successes and positive initiatives," Beqly recalled.

A Sorbonne research released last year by the French Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion represent an obstacle to jobseekers.

The independent National Committee for Police Practices has also said in a recent report that racist acts by French police have dramatically risen, particularly against French citizens of North African origin.

One of the unique features of this year's Bourget is the fatwa tent set up by the organizers to answer religion-related questions by many curious youths.

"Most of the questions centered on bank loans and unregistered marriages due to the difficulties youths face," Anis Qirqah, the head of the Fatwa Department of the Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF), told IOL.

Qirqah said Muslim reverts were complaining about the refusal of some Muslim families to marry off their daughters to them.

"As far as girls are concerned, the questions have mainly centered on hijab and whether they were allowed to take off their headscarves in places where they might come across troubles," he said.