History Of Development Of Islam In France

 Photo Of development of Islam in France

Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in France by number of worshippers, totaling about 10% of the national population. The presence of Muslims in France is attested as soon as the 8th century when the Moors conquered Spain and pushed northward. The Moors were quickly defeated in 732 by Frankish and Burgundian forces at the Battle of Tours.

  Photo Of development of Islam in France

Islam then totally disappeared from France until the 20th century. After WWII, the number of Muslims in France surged with the arrival of an increasing foreign labor force from the Maghreb. Immigrants came from nations which maintained strong ties with French language and culture (Francophonie) because of the legacy of past colonization. Immigrants, lured by economic opportunities, supplied a pool of manpower for the labor-intensive economy which prevailed at this time. They have chosen to settle in France and to embrace citizenship, as they were granted family reunification. Muslims contributed noticeably to the economic expansion of France during that time of "The Glorious Thirty", primarily as blue-collar workers in manufacturing plants or construction.

Statistics Due to a law dating from 1872, the French Republic prohibits performing census by making distinction between its citizens regarding their race or their beliefs. Nevertheless, the United States Department of State placed it at roughly 10%, while two 2007 polls estimated it at about 3% of the total population. The CIA World Factbook places it at 5-10%. In 2000, the French Ministry of the Interior estimated the number of Muslims to 4.1 million plus about 40,000 converts.

 Photo Of development of Islam in France

According to Michèle Tribalat(fr), a researcher at INED, an acceptance of 5 to 6 million Muslims in France in 1999 was overestimated. Her work has shown that there were 3.7 million people of "possible Muslim faith" in France in 1999 (6.3% of the total population of Metropolitan France). These 3.7 million people whose ancestry is from countries where Islam is the dominant faith may or may not be observant Muslims themselves.

Another estimate is the 2004 study, again by Michèle Tribalat of INED, this time based on anonymous questionnaires that were given to 380, 481 people alongside the 1999 population census conducted by INSEE. In these questionnaires, people were asked the origin of their parents and grandparents. As a result, 3.7 million people in France are likely to be from Muslim families, that is either they, their parents or grandparents come from a predominantly Muslim country making them "possibly" Muslim. More than 14 million French people (23% of the total population) have at least one parent from a foreign country, mostly from other European countries. However, 3 million are from Maghreb and 700,000 from Sub-Saharan Africa. In total, regardless of nationality, in 1999 there were 1.7 million immigrants from mostly Muslim countries to France, 1.7 million children, and 300,000 grandchildren.

1960-70s labor immigration Muslim immigration, mostly male, was high in the late 1960s and 1970s. The immigrants came primarily from Algeria and other North African colonies; however, Islam has an older history in France, since the Great Mosque of Paris was built in 1922, as a sign of recognition from the French Republic to the fallen Muslim tirailleurs mainly coming from Algeria, in particular at the battle of Verdun and the take-over of the Douaumont fort.

The first generation of Muslim immigrants, who are today retired from the workforce, keep strong ties with their countries, where their families lived. In 1974, the government passed a law allowing families of these immigrants to settle; thus, many children and wives moved to France. Most immigrants, realizing that they couldn't or didn't want to return to their homeland, asked for French nationality before quietly retiring. However, many live alone in housing projects, having now lost their ties with their countries of origin.

 Photo Of development of Islam in France

The situation was different with the "second generation", born in France, and as such French citizens by jus soli influenced law. As such, they cannot be designated "immigrants", since they were born on national territory. A 1992 reform of the nationality laws delayed obtainment of French nationality until a request at adulthood (where previously it was automatically given). A large number of them are located in housing projects in the suburbs. Unlike in the United States and elsewhere, the French working classes often reside outside large cities, sometimes in villes nouvelles (such as Sarcelles, from which the term sarcellite was derived), for which limited infrastructure other than sleeping dormitories has been planned, partially explaining a general boredom which some have noted contributed to the 2005 Paris suburb riots.