France, Islam and ‘Laïcité’

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/podcasts/the-daily/france-secularism-laicite-samuel-paty.html

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“Laïcité,” or secularism, the principle that separates religion from the state in France, has long provoked heated dispute in the country. The debate intensified when a teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded after showing his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad as part of a lesson on freedom of expression.

Since the killing, lawmakers in France have prepared contentious legislation aimed at combating the threat of Islamist radicals and shoring up the principle of laïcité.

But secularism can be troublesome in a diverse country like France. Laws governing religious symbols, which include bans on head scarves in schools, can antagonize France’s growing Muslim population in particular.

We look at the roots of secularism and ask whether it works in modern, multicultural France.

Constant Méheut, a reporter for The New York Times in France.

For generations, public schools assimilated immigrant children into French society by instilling the nation’s ideals. The beheading of a teacher raised doubts about whether that model still worked.

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Constant Méheut contributed reporting.

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