French President Emmanuel Macron announced last month that he will seek passage of a legislative package designed to more fully integrate Muslims in the country.
Under the proposed new laws, Islamic-based homeschooling would be severely restricted, reported Reuters. Macron said it is important that children not be “indoctrinated” in unregistered schools that don’t follow France’s national curriculum.
“What we need to fight is Islamist separatism,” Macron said. “The problem is an ideology which claims its own laws should be superior to those of the Republic.”
Another part of the proposal would ban foreign imams from training Islamic religious leaders in France. Local officials would also be given the power to nullify laws and policies that encourage Muslims to separate from the larger French population, such as measures that allow municipal swimming pools to establish sex-segregated hours.
Muslims account for about 7 percent of the French population. The nation officially separates religion and government and follows a policy of government-mandated secularism called “laicité.”
