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Secularism as a barrier to integration. The French Dilemma

Secularism as a barrier to integration. The French Dilemma
Secularism as a barrier to integration. The French Dilemma
This article focuses on the secularism debate currently taking place in France by examining how this issue impacts the integration of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants. Secularism is one of the key values of French Republicanism, but one which has been challenged by the establishment of a settled population of Muslim immigrants in France. The issue has been particularly highlighted by the affaire des foulards (headscarf affair), an ongoing debate over the rights of Muslim girls to wear a headscarf to secular French schools. Discussions of the principle of secularism and of its application have been even more intense in recent months with the publication in December 2003 of a report by the Stasi Commission, a commission set up by President Chirac to investigate the application of the principle of secularism, and by the passage of legislation intended to outlaw the wearing of any "overt" religious insignia in French schools. This article examines these recent developments in the context of the long-running debate over Muslim women's right to wear a headscarf in French schools. It argues that the current focus on secularism provides evidence of the return of assimilation as a primary objective of public policy (Brubaker, 2001) and the decreasing strength of the movement in favour of the droit à la différence (right to difference). Finally, the paper argues that this has provided important obstacles to the integration of certain groups of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants.
0020-7985
5-27
Freedman, Jane
87712506-bcba-4595-b1ad-b5f911ff095c
Freedman, Jane
87712506-bcba-4595-b1ad-b5f911ff095c

Freedman, Jane (2004) Secularism as a barrier to integration. The French Dilemma. International Migration, 42 (3), 5-27. (doi:10.1111/j.0020-7985.2004.00287.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This article focuses on the secularism debate currently taking place in France by examining how this issue impacts the integration of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants. Secularism is one of the key values of French Republicanism, but one which has been challenged by the establishment of a settled population of Muslim immigrants in France. The issue has been particularly highlighted by the affaire des foulards (headscarf affair), an ongoing debate over the rights of Muslim girls to wear a headscarf to secular French schools. Discussions of the principle of secularism and of its application have been even more intense in recent months with the publication in December 2003 of a report by the Stasi Commission, a commission set up by President Chirac to investigate the application of the principle of secularism, and by the passage of legislation intended to outlaw the wearing of any "overt" religious insignia in French schools. This article examines these recent developments in the context of the long-running debate over Muslim women's right to wear a headscarf in French schools. It argues that the current focus on secularism provides evidence of the return of assimilation as a primary objective of public policy (Brubaker, 2001) and the decreasing strength of the movement in favour of the droit à la différence (right to difference). Finally, the paper argues that this has provided important obstacles to the integration of certain groups of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants.

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Published date: 2004

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 34033
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/34033
ISSN: 0020-7985
PURE UUID: 4afc4c74-425d-4de6-9121-997dc3bae398

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Date deposited: 17 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:46

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Author: Jane Freedman

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