Since then the Muslim minority has been growing and now approaches the 10 percent level in French society these days. This is the largest amount of Islam confessors in Europe. In Britain there are about 2 million Muslims and a similar number in Germany.
The French policy in relation to Muslims focuses on legitimization of the Islamic community and integrating them into French society. It seems to be one of the main issues for French internal social policy. In an article from the "Foreign Affairs" we read: "This contrasts with those of Germany and Britain; Germany's policy is to repatriate its Muslims, Britain's to ignore them. Of the three, only France has taken positive steps to promote Muslim integration." It sounds quite reasonable, especially in a situation when Islam has become the country's second religion, with more confessors than French Protestants or Jews.
According to a poll taken in 2000 by the United Nation Commission on the Rights of Man, up to 63 percent of the French think "there are too many Arabs" in France. And the recent polls found that two-thirds of the French associate Islam with religious fanaticism. It might seem to be an unfair attitude, because only 10 - 15 percent of France's Muslims regularly practice their religion. Most of them identify with the faith socially, by celebrating its major holidays. Of course there are some radical elements among Muslim communities and their voice is the one often heard by the public especially those airing views shared with the society of radical imams from French mosques. It is widely known that many of them (about 90%) are foreigners and more than a half of them do not speak French at all. They spread their propaganda and preach hatred with impunity, although the government has announced that every imam who preaches radical speeches will be expelled from France. In 2004 French authorities expelled just a few radical imams from about 1500 who teach in Muslims' mosques in France.
To avoid the radical voices of imams, French authorities have decided recently to support a mosque building program for Islam's confessors. Although the V French Republic remains neutral in religious issues, politicians made a decision to help Muslims in erecting legal Allah's temples.
In France there are only five true mosques, the other 1500 are small buildings and provisional places (flats for example) perfectly adapted for radical imams' sermons of hatred to the unfaithful, preached without control. This is why the government wants to organize official mosques for French Muslims. The minister of home affairs, Nicolas Sarkozy has consented to the erection of a massive mosque (to hold eight thousand people) in Marseille, the most ‘Islamic' city in France, where 25 percent of the population (about 200 thousand) is Muslims. The authorities of the city want to remove provisional ‘temples' and create one place for Muslims to pray, which would stay under the authorities' control.
Extremist imams have a great opportunity to share with other Islamic confessors their views of the faith and their understanding of the Koran's verses, because Islam is not a hierarchical Church there is not a main authority among them. Everyone can say whatever he wants as indeed happens, often the most extreme and vocal getting the most publicity.
French Muslims are mainly supported by Saudi Arabian Muslims. It is confirmed by experts on Saudi Arabia, that the country founded 80 percent of every mosque and Islamic center in France, for example the Institute of the Arab World in Paris.
Even with help from other Arab countries, they become a crucial part of French and other European countries. (Italian journalist Oriana Falliaci says that nowadays Europe should be called Euarabia due to increasing numbers of Muslims among Europeans.) They become doctors, teachers, policemen, politicians and even members of parliament. It is worth mentioning that Muslims can be admired, respected and prized citizens in European countries. Tahar Ben Jelloun, the writer from Morocco, who lives in Paris, won the prestigious Goncourt prize. Another, more famous, is the football player Zidane who inspired the victory in the football world cup for France and now he is an idol for thousands of sport fans all over the world.
It shows that the issue needs to be discussed thoughtfully. Muslims might be a problem for internal and international security, but they are an important part of European society. A few days after the London tragedy the French minister Nicolas Sarkozy told the public, that politicians must be resolute and peremptory in their attitude to radical Muslims, even though France did not take part in the war in Iraq. What is interesting, according to the polls, Nicolas Sarkozy with his resolute views is the favourite to win next year's presidential elections in France, because he is not afraid to say "what an average French thinks."
Islamic extremists hate the most fundamental value of democratic systems which is freedom. The fear among French people is quite strong, but there are hundreds of thousands of Muslims who have chosen Europe exactly for this value. Muslims, who have nothing in common with the terrorists who carried out the suicide attacks on the London Underground on July 7th.
