“Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared on October 2, as he announced his plans to protect France’s secularism against what he called “Islam separatism”. Two weeks later, on October 16, French middle school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after showing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad — which is considered a serious blasphemy in Islam — during one of his classes to teach freedom of expression. This brutal murder shocked the whole nation, stirring up much criticism towards violent extremism. Muslim leaders, too, gathered in front of Paty’s school to pay tribute to him, where the Iman of Paris suburb of Dracy, Hassen Chalghoumi, denounced the murderer as a “criminal” and a “terrorist”. In a national tribute for the teacher, Macron once again emphasized the value of secularism. While he said that he understands the shock Muslims felt towards the depictions of the prophet, he claimed that France will continue to “defend the freedom that [Paty] taught so well” and to “not disavow the cartoons, the drawings, even if others recoil”. This speech, along with the one he made in early October, elicited strong backlash for his failure to apologize for offending the religion and steering away from the path to religious tolerance. It ignited protests and boycotts from Muslim communities all around the world. In Bangladesh, 50,000 people protested to condemn Macron; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Macron “mentally ill,” urging for a boycott of French products; in Pakistan, hundreds of protestors burned effigies of the president.

So this secularism that Macron so consistently calls for — what exactly is it? French secularism, or laïcité, is the notion that private life, which is believed to be where religion belongs, should be strictly separated from the public sphere. Ever since the 1905 French law that separated the Church and the State, secularism has been an integral part of contemporary politics in France. Under this principle, in 2004, schools were restricted from having religious signs; since 2011, wearing clothing that fully covers up one’s face in public spaces has been outlawed, including hijabs. Secularism has sparked controversies for being intolerant and even discriminatory towards certain religious beliefs and practices — ironically the very opposite of what it aims for in the first place: freedom of expression and speech. For the sake of freedom from religion in public spaces, it has been suppressing freedom of religion in those public spheres. Over the years, this policy has aggravated clashes between France and various religious groups, the most significant of which involving the Muslim community. Islam is the second largest religion in France, but France’s cherished values of secularism and enlightenment conflict with the religion’s identity and traditions. The troubled relationship between France and Islam has been a pressing political issue, and Macron’s push towards secularism seems to only deteriorate it further. 

While protesters condemn Macron for offending and oppressing the religion, Macron denies any attack on Islam and claims that France has “no problem” with the religion itself. In his October 2 speech, he insisted that “secularism is the cement of a united France,” emphasizing that his target has been towards “radical Islamism” — towards those who promote violence and distort the religion. In a speech on February 18, he claimed that “a problem arises when, in the name of religion, some want to separate themselves from the Republic and therefore not respect its laws”. To implement this secularism in the name of unity, on November 18, he has asked the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) to confirm a new “charter of republican values”. The CFCM, which represents nine separate Muslim associations, has been asked to sign the text that states that Islam is a religion, not a political movement, and to ban foreign influence. He has also announced a wide-ranging bill that aims to tackle “Islamist separatism”. It includes restrictions on home-schooling and stricter measures to ensure that all students are attending school, which Macron identifies as a crucial place to educate about secularism.

The current situation that Macron faces is one of colossal importance — to France, to Islam, and to Macron himself, who is a year and a half away from an election. Macron combined his moves against radical Islamism with the public message of unity: “We are the first and foremost citizens united by the same values, a history, a destiny.”