French human rights lawyer: The “separatist” law aims to marginalize Muslims and reduce their awareness
Amman Today
publish date 2021-07-28 13:02:03
** Yasser Al Lawati, President of the French Commission for Justice and Freedom:
The controversial “Principles of Enhancing Respect for the Values of the Republic” law seeks to limit the awareness of members of Muslim communities of their beliefs and citizenship rights.
The law specifically and clearly targets Muslims, and seeks to marginalize them in France
France is trying to criminalize Muslims who organize outside government-backed institutions
The myth that France, a country of human rights, died years ago, and Paris today is under the yoke of Islamophobia and racism.
The controversial “Principles of Strengthening Respect for the Values of the Republic” (Separatist Law), which was adopted by the National Assembly in France (Parliament) a few days ago, aroused the discontent of Muslims in the country, who considered it aimed at marginalizing them and limiting their awareness.
This came according to Yasser Al Lawati, head of the “Justice and Freedoms for All” Committee (particularly concerned with defending the rights of Muslims and spreading awareness about Islamophobia in France) in an interview with Anatolia.
On Friday, France’s National Assembly finally adopted the draft law on “Principles of Strengthening Respect for the Values of the Republic”, which was first defined as “the fight against separatist Islam”.
The “Separatist Law” prepared by the government of President Emmanuel Macron faces criticism such as that it targets Muslims in the country, and almost imposes restrictions on all aspects of their lives, and seeks to show some things that happen rarely as a chronic problem.
It also provides for oversight of mosques and associations responsible for their management, and for monitoring the funding of Muslim civil organizations.
It imposes restrictions on the freedom of families to provide education for their children at home, and it also prohibits the wearing of the headscarf in pre-university education institutions.
Under the new law, a person convicted of the crime of “separatism” carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and fines of up to 75,000 euros ($88,000) for those who threaten or assault an elected official or civil servant for not wanting to follow the rules governing French public services, such as: Refusal to undergo a medical examination by a female doctor, according to the same source.
** Islamophobia and racism
Al-Lawati said that the law specifically targets Muslims and seeks to marginalize Muslims and reduce the awareness of members of Muslim communities about their beliefs and citizenship rights.
He added that the law limits the presence and organization of Muslims as people who have a belief and are aware of the rights of citizenship, considering that Paris is trying to “criminalize” Muslims who organize themselves outside government-supported institutions.
Al Lawati stated that the law specifically targets Muslims, but could be exploited and applied to other religious communities in the future.
He stressed that “the myth that France, a country of human rights, died years ago, and that this country has turned into a country under the yoke of Islamophobia and racism.”
Al-Lawati said: Yes, this law specifically targets Muslims, because discussions have always been and still revolve around them. It targets a broad segment that constitutes about 11 percent of the country’s population.
** Hate against Muslims
Al Lawati pointed out that Macron and Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin started using the term “separatism” after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the American police on May 25, 2020, to justify the measures taken against Muslims in the suburbs, racist measures and police violence.
He stated that French senators “cast their hatred” against Muslims during speeches they gave in Senate debates on the law, and even sought to ban the dances and music of Muslim communities.
Al Lawati indicated that he hopes to transfer the law passed in Parliament to the State Council, the Constitutional Council and institutions defending human rights and freedoms.
He said: At the present time, Muslims are right to be concerned, because this law gives the state the ability to control religious minorities and “criminalize” their rituals and beliefs and expel their clergy from the country, as happened with imams who were expelled by order of the French Interior Minister.
** hostile laws
On the other hand, Al Lawati pointed out that the French government could easily pass anti-Islamic laws based on the aforementioned law, because in reality Islamic organizations are unable to take a unified stand against anti-Islamic laws.
He pointed out that this law and the discussions surrounding it put the Muslim community in a difficult situation, and that while representatives of Catholics or Jews would be able to object to government interference in the affairs of religious communities, Muslim representatives would not be able to speak publicly about their objection to such interference.
France is one of the largest European countries in terms of the size of the Muslim community, as their number reached about 5.7 million until mid-2016, which constitutes 8.8 percent of the total population.
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Source : ألدستور