Why Muslims Quietly Flee France?

With the French presidential elections approach, anti-immigrant rhetoric has become a focus of competition between candidates and all the talk has been directed to more restraints of Muslims in France, where candidates enjoy giving Islamophobic speeches to fulfill the anti-Islamic desires of their French people.

Day and night, Muslims are fighting discrimination, suppression, racism and abuse.

They have long stood against banning the hijab, the shut of their schools and mosques, and accusations of terrorism, which has left deep wounds in Muslim minorities in France.

Some Muslims, then, found themselves indirectly forced to leave the country, while their situation is getting worse every day, according to TRT.

 

Quietly Leaving

With the growing feeling of hatred towards Muslims, in particular, in French society, fueled by the political rhetoric of the candidates and the media, Muslims are now more urgently forced than ever to flee the country.

The latter in fact has begun to close its doors for migrants as well as non-French residents, so living in France has become nearly impossible, not to mention the situation after the presidential elections which will be more complicated.

The exclusive report published by New York Times, Muslims Silently Leaving France,” said that the number of Muslims leaving France is increasing every day, especially when the next presidential elections campaigns are mainly focused on immigration showing a deep crisis.

The closest opponents of President Emmanuel Macron are emphasizing on anti-immigration speech despite France’s small number of migrants when compared to other European countries in recent years, according to the report.

Hearing everyday news of how they will be unwelcomed, more suppressed and devalued, Muslims are quietly leaving France, feeling compelled to do so.

According to the newspaper, “even the most qualified members of French minorities fail to circumvent the social ladder and present them as examples of integration.”

Professor Olivier Esteves, at the University of Lille, conducted a survey of 900 Muslims who left France.

He said: “These people will contribute to the economy of countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and France is shaking its feet; Muslims, who make up 10% of the country’s population, have been linked to crime and other social problems by center-right candidate Valérie Pécresse through phrases such as “regions that are not France.”

 

It Is a Strategy

It was not only about anti-Muslims speeches, but the French government also has a long history of anti-Muslim legislation.

October 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his plan to combat what he called “separatist tendencies,” as part of the Promoting the Values ​​of the Republic law.

Later, this law took other targets, rather than trying to integrate Muslims and monitoring the funding channels of associations and mosques, it fought Muslims and interfered in all corners of their lives and their privacy, increasing legal restrictions amid slogans of racism, rejection and hatred, TRT reported.

French Muslims said they were subjected to racial discrimination in obtaining a job in France, this was supported by a previous study published by the French government in November 2021, confirming that French Muslims have fewer chances to get an employment interview.

The famous hater of Muslims, Eric Zemmour, is always mentioning this often during his speeches, declaring in an insulting expression that “French employers have the right to refuse to employ Arabs and blacks.”

Such reasons are enough for Muslims to leave the country, because they won’t be accepted even though they speak French and acquire enough skills, they always feel alienated.

As long as “you” are Muslim or an immigrant, the integration into French community is not that simple; for them, “you” will be judged for the mistakes of others.

 

Which Destination?

Making them feel insecure and alienated, French authorities have been accused of cornering its Muslims to finally find themselves quietly leaving the country but where to go?

Many qualified young French of North African origin are settled in Gulf countries, but the popular alternative destination for them has become Turkey.

The latter attracts especially young Muslims fleeing France because of politicians’ focus on rising anti-Islamic sentiments in the country.

According to an article titled Young French Muslims Who Chose Expatriation with Erdogan, published by Le Journal du Dimanche, Turkey has attracted hundreds of Muslims living in France for many years.

It is worth noting that many young French Muslims chose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s country to settle in Turkey and restart a better life away from racism and Islamophobic attitudes, especially in the last five years.

According to the same article, “these are usually religious, globalized and productive entrepreneurial profiles, and that they subscribe to the codes of Western modernity and capitalism.”

However, Turkey was not randomly selected by these Western Muslims, the article pointed out that despite so many young people of North African origin installed in the Gulf countries, “economically developed Western and Muslim Turkey is increasingly a popular migration destination for qualified people in this category.”

Speaking to Al-Estiklal, University professor of Literature and Islamic Civilization, Ghada Brahmi Tlili, said that “Turkey is a pride for us as Muslims, no one can deny its important position in introducing Islam as a religion of peace in the fullest sense of the word, rich in natural as well as human resources, Turkey has a dynamic economy which focuses on the youth’s future.”

“Respecting people’s beliefs and dignity, why do Muslims choose another country? Turkey is the best migration destination for our young Muslims fleeing French discrimination and oppression,” she added.