That is just a way of saying immigrants in France should accept their status as second class citizens. No one in the year 2015 - not Muslims in France, nor Mexicans in the US, nor Madesis in Nepal - and certainly not women or LGBT anywhere in the world - are going to put their heads down, kiss the ring of the ruling classes and submit themselves to those they perceive to robbing them of dignity just because they are expected to be grateful to have food, housing and healthcare provided for them. 

The vast majority of Muslim immigrants to France are from the former North African colonies where the French brutalized and oppressed locals for decades. French colonization was driven by the presumptive notion of a "civilizing mission" - one of the worst forms of colonialism - and some of that legacy lingers in today's social and political dynamics at play in French society. You could argue the French were far more brutal and degrading towards the Algerians than even the British were towards the Indians. That legacy will probably take a couple of more generations to erase and  till then you will continue to witness torn loyalties among French people of Algerian, Moroccan or Tunisian descent. The most marginalized are always the least loyal to the state. Yes, the French have died for a lot of noble things, no denying that, but there is also a lot they have killed for and both of those have to be looked at in balance and with perspective.

Also, not all Muslim women are forced to wear hijab by their husbands. That is a presumptive notion pushed by French and other Westerners alike that presents only a partial picture of reality in the Muslim world. Sure there are conservative families who impose strict dress codes but plenty of Muslim women  - educated  and empowered professors, doctors, lawyers -  wear it out of their own volition because it is part of their cultural wardrobe. They have as much a right to wear what they want as Charlie Hebdo has to publish what it wants. The responsibility of not to be offended cuts both ways.

As mentioned in previous posts, it is less important who is right and wrong. The more pertinent question is how to move forward. France must have a dialogue with itself as to whether it truly aspires to be a multicultural society and how much of immigrant culture it is willing to embrace and tolerate. It must decide whether or not it wants to carry with it the burden of additional rights and responsibilities that multiculturalism brings. Immigrants too must decide what aspects of their culture to hold on to and what to give up. If the future is to be different from the past, then both immigrants and natives have to change. Expecting only one side to  do so is not going to lead to a different outcome.

And the rest of us must have the courage to condemn Islamists and Islamaphobes with equal fervor.

Last edited: 11-Jan-15 12:41 PM