Muslim in France | What is it like to be a Muslim in France

 

Decent, I love France personally.

This is something that always irks or confuses people since I do give out that vibe of being anti-Western (to Westerners) while France also has a negative reputation among Muslims who are surprised to see me defend France.

But having been born and raised in the United States and lived in France the past few years, I prefer France and I love it.

I even feel a sense of loyalty and attachment to the country that took me in, helped to mold me into the man I am today while also giving me as many opportunities it could such as my extremely cheap, but very high quality university education (university is only $200/year for me).

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“But I heard X, Y and Z about Muslims in France?”

I’m sure many are thinking this right now.

One thing that has always shocked me is the sheer amount of misinformation spread online about France.

Indians and Westerners believe it is a wasteland where roving gangs of Jihadis rape white women while white men are being stoned to death for taking a sip of traditional French wine.

Who can forget when major American media broadcaster Fox News claimed Muslims had taken over parts of French cities and turned them into Sharia-run areas?

Muslims believe it is a hellhole of persecution where some impoverished Tunisian is lured in with the promise of a good job and is then discriminated against relentlessly by the French who can’t help but devise new ways of humiliating and persecuting Muslims.

As somebody who has actually lived in France as a Muslim immigrant, I can say both views are pure nonsense and mere fantasies cooked up in the minds of ideologues to deceive people who don’t know any better.

What is it really like in France?

Normal, I suppose.

I don’t know how else to put it.

People walking around in a French town

You have excellent healthcare and schools, you can find employment and not have to worry about your boss screwing you over like in other countries.

For housing, there is a lot of affordable and great housing outside of Paris.

Food is great too.

I don’t know about Paris, but in the city I live in, it’s also very safe, no matter the time.

People even leave their bikes unlocked on the streets when handling errands quickly.

Something that is unfathomable in New York.

It’s a developed stable country.

There are mosques, supermarkets have halal sections to cater to Muslim consumers and a lot of Arab-run stores (especially restaurants).

The city I’m in has weekly markets and in certain neighborhoods these markets are filled with North African merchants peddling their wares.

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“Ok. But in a previous answer you wrote A and B on France.

Now you’re changing your tune.”

One of the biggest changes that I faced in France that is so vastly different from the United States is:

Integration and Acceptance

The United States do believe all foreigners can become Americans regardless of ethnic or religious background or where you were born.

You could be a Mongolian Buddhist born in Shanghai and you can still become American if you say you are one and live in the United States.

Americans will accept you.

This doesn’t happen in France, even amongst the Left

There exists an unspoken view of “You may live in France, you may have French citizenship but you will never be French”.

Many North Africans perceive this as a racist or islamophobic attack on them, even though all immigrant communities in France suffer from that view like the Chinese.

Despite being born in France, he said, the society never made him feel completely French.

“Teacher, I’m French,” he recalled saying in primary school. “She told me, ‘No!’”

“France is a racist country,” Yang said, claiming that non-white immigrants are less likely to be hired for top jobs in France.

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My Stepfather’s brother is married to a French Moroccan woman and they have children together. The children, their mother and their maternal grandparents are all born in France.

3 whole generations. Their mother barely speaks Moroccan Arabic.

But according to the French, the children are Moroccans.

They are immigrants.

It doesn’t matter that their mother and grandparents are born and raised in France, that they speak better French than Arabic and their ties to Morocco are slim.

They’re still Moroccan immigrants according to French society.

So you see a lot of tensions in this regard and this is what I discuss often.

But I’ve never claimed France is perfect

No country is, but I still see France as one of the best countries on Earth if not the best.

I still love France and I’m grateful to the Republic.

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