APRIL, 3rd PRESS RELEASE The Anti-republican Republic
I’d become accustomed to it over the last twenty years; I had always hoped things would improve. Events have proven me wrong. France’s political class has changed little in the last two decades; in fact, it seems to be regressing rapidly.
For years now, conference organizers have told me of pressure exerted by the French government’s intelligence services, of blackmail, of cancelled of halls. Freely expressing oneself in public, and even in privately owned venues, has always been difficult. Owners or managers would be visited or called (by the Renseignments Généraux of the day) to dissuade them from renting their premises. Few could resist.
Since my televised debate with then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, before which he had humbly declared that he would “crush me,” the situation has grown worse. Pressure has been brought to bear on the authorities of the European Union (where I have been a frequent speaker), there have been no further invitations from French institutions and, above all, I have been systematically blocked from appearing at universities. Between 2003 and 2012 I have spoken only once in an academic setting (at Sciences Po, at the invitation of a student association). France is the only country in the world where this state of affairs is tolerated, where pressure is brought to bear both by the government and the local authorities, both Right and Left.
Most recently, at Lille, on Friday March 2, the town’s socialist mayor intervened to cancel the hall. Academic authorities and student groups have been pressured or received telephone calls forcing them to cancel my speaking engagements: Strasbourg (Sciences Po, scheduled January 19, 2012), Grenoble (Grenoble École de Management, scheduled April 4, 2012, Lyon (Journée Alter-Idées, Grandes Écoles de Lyon, scheduled April 5, 2012), Palaiseau (École Polytechnique, vetoed even before the final program was published.
What can possibly justify such an attitude? Analysis of my message over the last twenty-five years, agree with it or not (notes Christophe Roucou, director of the Service national pour les relations avec l’Islam et l’Église catholique), shows that I have called on French, European and American Muslim citizens to respect the laws of the countries in which they live, to feel at home in the West, and to participate socially and politically in their pluralist societies for the greater good of all (Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, atheists, etc.). I advise them to remain free, intellectually autonomous and critical. In a word, in France, to be patriotic, committed republicans, inspired by the values of human dignity, of freedom, justice and peace. What is wrong with this message? That it comes from a “Muslim intellectual?” That it is subversive, calling upon Muslims to be free, critical and democratic in every sense of the word? Not to be passive, acquiescing victims, but to defend their dignity with the full strength of memory, to defend their rights with determination, mindful of their duties and contributions as citizens?
Perhaps that is the problem. Free Muslim citizens, visible by virtue of their independence of spirit, are not wanted in France. For the most effective weapon such citizens can wield is neither violence nor terrorism, but a critical conscience and active affirmation of full and autonomous citizenship. For twenty years I have devoted my life to encouraging and joining hands with such citizens, women and men. At a loss for arguments, faced with a new generation of French citizens the authorities’ only recourse is false propaganda (“double language”) and forced silence that stifles democratic debate. How low we have sunk!
I will be present at Bourget on Saturday April 7, and I will defend these same positions. Peacefully, calmly, clearly and with determination.
We see the same thing happening here in Denmark. But success is never measured by the numbers, rather by impact. The job of ice-breakers are to remain consistent, yet true to the message. Keep writing, speaking, working. Ostracization seems to be a common human characteristic; you might find youself pushed off the beaten academic path by people whom you trust and respect and whom you think would share your views. Still, never give up; in the end all we really are measured by are our intentions and our actions for the sake of Allah, so in Him we trust.
Your article will be read and remembered, and the French Government will eventually have to answer for its actions sooner or later. Even East Germany was brought down after 40 years by people daring to speak out. Good luck on Saturday 🙂
Thank you for this thoughtful piece. I saw you on Swiss TV last night, saying much the same. Your clear challenge to our democracies is to respect the values that we proclaim – and find it so hard to practice!
I think it was Tony Blair who coined the phrase ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’. Not so far from what you were saying: tough on terrorism, fine, but look at the deeper causes. This is what we try to do through the [Caux conferences->http://www.caux.ch]. We indeed need ‘a new we’, and to create that, we may need to work on ‘a new me’.
Hello. When you were in Lebanon a year or two back, you had given a speech moderated by Sari Hanafi. I remember seeing your determination in that room. I know it feels hard these days, but please keep going, you have our best support.
Best wishes,
Amany