THE STATE’S RESPONSE TO THE THREAT OF RADICAL ISLAM | M6 | Zone Interdite

Practically all of the 4.1 million Muslims in France respect shared laws and rules. However, a small, active and radicalized minority contests the laws of the Republic, is engaged in a political battle and seeks to extend its influence. This development is due to the growing influence, in France and Europe, of “Islamist” movements, whose central ideology is to render sharia the only source of law. One of the most powerful and wide-spread of these movements is Salafism. While officially condemning terrorism, this movement promotes a retrogressive form of Islam and is weaving powerful, influential networks.

In the Hauts-de-France, the town of Roubaix (population 98,000, of whom 43% live below the poverty line) is home to a considerable Muslim community. The town now has seven mosques, one of which is openly Salafist. Some neighbourhoods have turned to fundamentalism and a form of separatism: restaurants offer closed booths reserved for veiled women. You can obtain books promoting jihad, the holy war against non-Muslims. And today, right in the centre of town, you can buy dolls without faces. Toys sold to parents anxious to respect an ultra-radical version of Islam that forbids the representation of human beings. Either accidentally or through cronyism, elected officials are sometimes complicit: an association, supported by public funds, gave religious instruction in this town in the Nord.

For the first time, crews from “Zone Interdite” were granted permission to follow one of the 101 departmental teams battling Islamism and community segregation (CLIR) created by the government at the end of 2019. Alongside them, the magazine’s reporters discover a non-contracted school in Marseille suspected of Islamic influence, which also provided cover for an underground school.

In the struggle against radical Islam in France, more than 650 establishments cafes, association premises, religious buildings, schools or businesse shave already been closed. What is the strategy of those who wish to impose God’s law over those of the Republic? Which regions, sectors and populations are under threat? Is the State’s response effective?

An original enquiry into the reality of the Islamist threat to schools, universities, public transport and some areas in France that have tipped over into alarming religious segregation.