Maybe he knew what he was doing. Maybe he didn’t. Either way, Emmanuel Macron set France and Europe on a
new collision course with the Islamic world last month. Macron managed to outrage mainstream Muslim opinion and,apparently, to energise extremists
geopolitical rivalries do not explain the depth and breadth of Muslim-world fury. That stems from dismay felt by the overwhelmingly nonviolent Muslim majority about entrenched European
Islamophobia,racial discrimination, cultural insensitivity, and heartless migrant policies.
Further afield, perceived French neocolonialism in the Sahel and apparent western indifference to the endless horrors in Syria, Yemen,Afghanistan, Myanmar and Xinjiang feed tensions.
A
Pew Research survey last year foundt hat solid majorities of people in the UK, France, the Netherlands,Germany and Sweden hold positive opinions of Muslims in their country.
Although far-right populist parties continue to exploit fears about identity and immigration, especially among less-educated and older people, and although recorded
incidents of Islamophobia are up,overall tensions have fallen compared with five years ago.
On the other hand, the French policy mandating assimilation into a prescriptively “lay” society appears too rigid. Macron should think again about how it is applied.
It’s plain the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe remains fragile. The danger is obvious.