The fight against islamophobia in France
Since the terrorist attacks in Paris, islamophobia is very much on the rise. there have been dozens of attacks on mosques, but more mainstream anti-muslim campaigns are in many ways more worrying. In particular new scare campaigns are being run by the Right and by part of the Left about women wearing headscarves when they work in child care, and when they study in universities. Much of the Left, steeped in confused interpretations of what a secular state should be, is unwilling to fight against islamophobia, and this has been the case for many years. However, the minority of Left activists who *are* prepared to fight islamophobia is considerably bigger than it used to be, and campaigns run by muslims themselves (mostly left muslims) are more active and more frequently seen than before, even if they remain small.
The NPA is somewhat better on the question than a few years back, (at one point in the past, the front page of their paper referred to women who wear the niqab as "birds of death"!!), though still today a fair proportion of its members are opposed to fighting islamophobia. A similar situation exists in my own organization, Ensemble. On the one hand, I know at least one member of Ensemble who is supporting an attempt to have students with headscarves banned from some classes in the university she works in. On the other the national steering committee has just produced a press release which is quite good. Colin Falconer has translated it, on his blog, and you can read it here :
http://le-nouveau-poireau-rouge.blogspot.fr/2015/04/child-care-facilities-and-universities.html
So progress is being made, and the large meeting against islamophobia two months back which packed a large hall and was supported by several large left and muslim organizations, was the best sign we have seen for twenty years. Since that meeting, a "permanent campaign against islamophobia" has been set up, and this is excellent news. There is still a long way to go though until we see a sufficient response from our organizations of the anticapitalist Left.
The NPA is somewhat better on the question than a few years back, (at one point in the past, the front page of their paper referred to women who wear the niqab as "birds of death"!!), though still today a fair proportion of its members are opposed to fighting islamophobia. A similar situation exists in my own organization, Ensemble. On the one hand, I know at least one member of Ensemble who is supporting an attempt to have students with headscarves banned from some classes in the university she works in. On the other the national steering committee has just produced a press release which is quite good. Colin Falconer has translated it, on his blog, and you can read it here :
http://le-nouveau-poireau-rouge.blogspot.fr/2015/04/child-care-facilities-and-universities.html
So progress is being made, and the large meeting against islamophobia two months back which packed a large hall and was supported by several large left and muslim organizations, was the best sign we have seen for twenty years. Since that meeting, a "permanent campaign against islamophobia" has been set up, and this is excellent news. There is still a long way to go though until we see a sufficient response from our organizations of the anticapitalist Left.
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