Twenty Muslim representatives, including doctors, lawyers and journalists, signed an opinion column entitled, “We are also ‘dirty Frenchmen,’” in which they condemned the crimes of the Islamic State. They recently met with President Francois Hollande to discuss their proposal. During their meeting the representatives proposed that Hollande “pull Islam upwards.”
Bariza Khiari, a Socialist senator from Paris said, “We went to tell him that for us, what is happening right now is an absolute horror.” She added, “We reject this unproductive debate that pits those who express themselves—accused of duplicity—and those who refuse to join the demonstrations, against one another…Basically, we all agree to condemn these crimes, only the mode of expression distinguishes us.”
Their proposals include the creation of a chair on Islam at the College de France in order to hold debates and “intellectualize” the issue. Khiari contends, “France needs to be the Harvard of Islam,” and believes that “European Islam, because it confronts others, can bring a lot to the Muslim world.”
The group also proposed to hold a “worldwide day of unity.”
Their final proposition is to create an annual report of accomplishments that stem from diversity, in order to combat the media’s negative portrayal of France’s Muslim community. The group even proposed to gather the heads of France’s main media outlets to discuss the manner in which they portray Islam in their columns.
