A Barometer for the Popularity of Muslims: An Interview with Souad

This interview is printed in "What Do We Do With A Difference? France and the Debate Over Headscarves in Schools". 

France has a large population of immigrants from its former colonies in North Africa.  Some of the second- and third-generation immigrants feel caught in between cultures, neither French nor foreign; and for some of these people, religion becomes an important part of their identity.   They often do not learn about religion at home, because their parents stress the importance of assimilation.  Rather, they learn about Islam from a local Mosque, local religious leaders, the internet, or neighborhood Islamic bookstores.  Where does the decision to wear the hijab arise? Is simply a religious choice?  Is it a reaction to feeling excluded from mainstream society?

Souad is part of this generation. She was born in France, shortly after her parents arrived from Algeria. She was not brought up to be especially religious, nor does she speak much Arabic.  As a sign of her religious commitment, she recently began to wear the veil.

In the following audio, an actress reads a recollection Souad has about the way other French citizens reacted to her as a veiled Muslim:

Sometimes even when I have not been listening to the news, I know what's happened by watching how people regard me. On September 11^th, I returned home from work, turned on the television and saw the catastrophe. I was shocked like everyone else. The next morning, Wednesday, I had almost forgotten what had happened, I took the train to work, and the looks I got from others reminded me that it was the 12^th -- of what happened the day before. At first I didn't understand. I looked myself over, to see if there was something wrong with my clothes. What did I do? And then I made the connection. . . .

The other time it happened to me was when there was a French ship blown up. I had not heard about it, and I saw a great deal of aggression in people's stares, and I said to myself I had better read a newspaper right away, and I saw the explanation. I function as a barometer of the popularity of Muslims.

 

When there were sympathetic looks it was between the two votes for the president [in April-May 2002], when [right-wing nationalist politician] Jean-Marie Le Pen had done well, they felt guilty, and so in the subway if I was jostled a bit, people would say "Oh, excuse me, ma'am," as if to say, "I didn't vote for Le Pen." So in some sense, I have never been spit on or struck or yelled at but I see a lot in those looks.