Sunday, 6th July 2008
France's problems with Muslim community
Herman Grech's article ('The race for space', The Sunday Times, June 29) made interesting reading, but today's Muslim-related problems in France also have a historical perspective.
France used to have an empire which included Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon and several largely Muslim countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Some of them were called protectorates, but in the case of Algeria the relationship went much deeper. Hundreds of thousands of mainly French people and some other Europeans, including Maltese, settled in Algeria which became an integral part of France. This led to the Algerian War of Independence.
Empire means exploitation and the Muslim and other colonies and protectorates contributed healthily to France's economic prosperity. Many Muslims worked for French firms, while others joined the French armed forces and fought for the French in European wars. In the course of history and business, many Muslims settled in France. These included Algerians who fought on the side of the French against the Algerian Liberation Front and who were resettled to France for their own safety. Also, in the 1960s the French government actively encouraged immigration to weaken French trade unions whose strikes and wage claims were rendering French industry uncompetitive.
It would have been much better for everybody if it had encouraged French industry to invest in Muslim countries and employ Muslims in their own countries. In many ways, France's problems with its Muslim community are self-inflicted and the result of short sighted policies in the last two centuries. In no way can one draw any conclusions or inspiration from them for Malta's current problems.
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Comments
Church goers are decreasing all over Christian countries. This is the real dilemma of the Vatican. A divine solution does not see to be available for this issue.
But somehow our Christianity morals wake-up when Muslims are discussed!
My understanding is that. For Muslims, Saudi Arabia is equivalent to our Vatican. Christians would fully and freely practice their religion inside a Church in Saudi Arabia’ soil, only when Muslims have a Mosque inside the Vatican’ soil.
Not on country- by- country base. Number of Churches inside Muslims world all over the globe, more than Mosques inside Christian’s countries all over the globe. Unless we tend to edit, or make self-history, facts speak for themselves.
It's fully fledged citizens who happen to be a different religion i.e. race who are a problem.
Louise Vella, your true colours were easily enough seen before you confirmed them so beautifully!
People like you make me so sick!
After all look at muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, do the Christians there, none of them are allowed to practice their Religion.
The British and French Empires have delayed the development of the world's peoples by 200 years. One needs only to look at the meteoric rise of the previous "protectorates" in the few decades since the fall of these Empires to confirm this.