French human rights activist Marwan Mohamed said that President Emmanuel Macron's period was disastrous for the situation of Muslims in the country, as the level of Islamophobia, racism and restrictions on individual freedoms rose, although some called for a vote for him in 2017;
In order to block the way for the far right.
Marwan - one of the most prominent defenders of Muslims in France - explained that most of the French presidential candidates have an abnormal obsession with the Muslim community and the immigration file, unlike the somewhat moderate left-wing candidates.
This is the text of the interview conducted with him by Al Jazeera Net:
What files did Macron fail during his first term?
How would you rate this period in general?
First, in order to evaluate Macron’s period, we must realize that he came in order to block the path of the far-right and its leader, Marine Le Pen in 2017, and he was presented as the president who is open to different cultures and tolerant, so that the opposite happens immediately after his election, and his period witnesses greater restrictions on Muslims and an attempt to criminalize them.
Macron's first term proceeded with the criminalization of Muslims and the rise in the level of racism and Islamophobia against them, and this came in parallel with the escalation of police violence, specifically during the protests that the country witnessed during the Macron years.
What is the presidential candidate who holds a program that takes into account the conditions of Muslims?
Looking at the various programmes, we find that many presidential candidates bear an unnatural obsession with Islam and Muslims, as we see in the "Reclaim France" candidate Eric Zemmour, the "National Front" candidate Marine Le Pen, and the "Republican" candidate, Valerie Pecres.
We do not see this obsession with left-wing candidates who know the danger of spreading Islamophobia and racism, such as the candidate of "Proud France" and the "Union Popular", Jean-Luc Millionchon, and the candidate of the anti-capitalist "New Party" Philippe Bhutto.
The extreme right accuses you of being one of the faces of the Muslim Brotherhood in France.. How do you respond to that?
I had spoken about the matter, personally, I do not belong to any current, but I would like to point out the importance of taking a special position and fighting for the cause of Muslims, in order to confront all those pressures exerted by the extreme right and its ready-made classifications towards anyone who opposes its theses. The Brotherhood, although it is French, rejects racism, describing it as "Islamist and leftist".
How do you see the future of the Muslim community in light of these circumstances and the surrounding complexities?
I think that the Muslim community in France has a real impact because it is the largest, and it also changed the previous view that prevailed in the eighties and before, when the Muslim used to only work in the field or the factory, and the Muslim woman only worked as a housemaid, and Muslims today occupy important positions ;
Among them are the director, professor, famous athlete and others, which disturbs the reality of the forces of the racist far-right.
Today, according to what I know, there are many who leave the country permanently and this is unfortunate, and there are others who chose to stay despite the difficulties because France in the end is their country, here they were born and brought up, and they are bothered by one question: Can we live and raise our children in peace here in France?