When the French Ministry of Education banned the abaya for Muslim schoolgirls, my migrant cousin called me and asked me to speak with a friend of hers, also a migrant. She said to me, *“Try to explain Islam to her; she has taken a dangerous path.”*
I was surprised by her request, and I began a conversation with the Muslim migrant. The first topic we discussed was the abaya.
She said:
“Do you see how much they hate Islam? They banned the abaya, and my daughter is veiled, and our religion obliges us to wear the hijab!”
I answered:
— Excuse me, but the hijab is not the abaya, and the French state has the right to ban any long garment it considers contrary to its secular identity. France is a secular state that works to protect its political and historical identity.
She objected:
– “Is this what a Muslim woman says? Freedom of belief is guaranteed in Europe. Why does France deprive us of it? How can you defend this?”
I replied:
– Freedom of belief as understood in the West is not the same as freedom of belief as defined by Islam. You want to live according to Islamic ethics – and that is your right – but the natural place for this is in your own countries. In the West, Islam is presented – especially by media and political narratives – as synonymous with terrorism, backwardness, and violence. Any attempt to change this distorted image will fail, because religious difference is already placed under suspicion.
She interrupted me:
“Then why do they accept religious Jews?”
I answered:
—- Jews in France are a small, influential minority, and most of them are secular. As for the religious among them, their visible religious expressions are limited. Muslims, on the other hand, draw attention through the hijab, long garments, beards, and behavioral patterns that are fundamentally at odds with French secularism and its non-religious identity.
She said:
—*“But as Muslims, we have the right to live according to our religion, and our mission is to bring France to Islam.”
I answered firmly:
There is no Qur’anic text or prophetic hadith that predicts the conversion of France to Islam. This is a mere illusion promoted by some extremists. If you wish to live according to Islamic law, that can only happen in your own countries. In our own Muslim lands, we would never allow Westerners to migrate by the millions and impose their Christian or non-religious customs on us. What we do not accept for ourselves, they will not accept for themselves.
She protested:
– “But returning to our countries means restricting our religious commitment ; the niqab is banned in my country! How can I live in my homeland without the niqab, and without justice?”
I said:
—- The niqab is not obligatory in Islam ; what is obligatory is the hijab. There is no consensus among the four Sunni schools of law regarding the obligation of the niqab. Some jurists even linked it only to cases in which a woman’s extraordinary beauty may cause temptation. I do not understand why an ordinary woman with no exceptional beauty would wear the niqab. And is the Western notion of justice — which is not based on Islamic law — really the justice you seek ?
She continued:
“-True, but in Europe there is no corrupt political class blocking people’s progress. France is an open space for anyone competent.”
I responded:
You are mistaken. France is well-known for its political elite and its complicated structures. I will give you just one example : the criminal cases associated with former president Nicolas Sarkozy. As for this “open space,” it is open primarily for the natives of the country, not for migrants. And I was told by my cousin that your residence permit is unlikely to be renewed. Is that correct?
-“Yes… they restrict everyone who practices their religion openly, and I am starting to fear for our future. Why do we find neither good in our own countries nor in Europe?”
I replied:
– The reason is simple: you lack a culture of citizenship, and your interpretation of religion is rigid and static in the eyes of Europeans. France does not want that, and it has the right to refuse it. Islam is a religion of mercy, modesty, and virtue – not a religion of outward appearances. The hijab is not only a garment; it is conduct and a philosophy of life. And it is impossible to live fully according to that philosophy in secular, non-religious France.
Conclusion :
1. The Islamic identity, which gives religion a legislative and behavioral presence
2. And the French secular identity, which considers religion a personal matter confined to the body and the home.
3. The migrants’ misunderstanding of the nature of French secularism: many assume that “freedom of belief” means unrestricted religious expression, whereas France distinguishes between individual freedom and mandatory neutrality in public institutions.
4. The idea of Islamizing France is promoted by an extremist discourse and is neither part of Islamic jurisprudence nor of demographic reality.
5. The real dilemma faced by Muslim migrants in the West is the desire to combine two structurally opposing models: living in a non-religious environment while maintaining a fully religious way of life — something that is neither logically nor legally achievable.
