France’s estimated six million strong Muslims are subject to daily inhuman treatment at the hands of a militant secular state. Islam as a faith has long been traduced and othered, exceptionalised as a religion that must be chastened by French enlightenment. It is this context that we observe with horror the recent episode of brutality. Seventeen year old Nahel Merzouk was killed at point blank range for a minor traffic infraction. His death, normally another statistic, was caught on camera and led to days of protests and rioting.

To help us make sense of this tragic week, we have invited back onto The Thinking Muslim Rayan Freschi. Rayan is a legal expert and researcher for Cage International and he has recently authored a disturbing report on the French government’s policy of “systematic obstruction” of the Muslim community. He recently wrote a piece for Middle East Eye analysing these tragic events.

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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 101

00:00 Opening clip
00:50 Introduction
02:05 The Nahel Merzouk incident
03:50 Outrage in the Muslim community in France
06:16 How common are such deaths?
07:44 Media narratives
10:30 Specific targeting by the police
14:49 What do the riots represent?
20:00 The systematic marginalisation of Muslims
22:56 The policy of systematic obstruction (2018)
30:06 Laicite Secularism
33:11 The effects of the War on Terror on the French psyche
34:43 The Anti-Separatism Law (2021)
40:35 What does the French state ultimately want for its Muslims?
44:19 Is there a deliberate spread of terror in the Muslim community?
46:49 The refusal to recognise minorities
53:00 The far-right in France
55:20 Are there sympathetic voices on the left?
59:50 Is Islamophobia and racism systemic within the police force?
01:04:44 Is the Muslim community in France apolitical?
01:09:07 Do Muslims have a future in France?
01:15:11 Do you see yourself remaining in France?
01:17:00 Additional information