NPR AUDIO: “In France, Young Muslims Often Straddle Two Challenging Worlds”

From National Public Radio

Ismael Medjdoub's mother, Fatihah, was born in France in 1963. Her family had emigrated from Algeria earlier. She says young Muslims of her generation practiced their religion privately — unlike the current generation's very public assertion of its Muslim identity.

The French, with their national motto of “liberty, equality, fraternity,” are so against religious and ethnic divisions that the government doesn’t even collect this kind of data on its citizens, but it’s believed that nearly 40 percent of the country’s 7 million Muslims live in and around Paris.

Many live in poor suburban communities known as banlieues., and the residents of these communities have felt increased scrutiny since three young Muslim men, each born and raised in France, killed 17 people in January’s terror attacks in Paris.

The bustling Gare du Nord train station marks the frontier between central Paris and the banlieues, says Andrew Hussey, a British historian who has written about the tensions between France and its black and Arab minorities.

It’s the place where the suburbs of northern Paris — which consist of mainly immigrant, minority populations, who are often very poor — come into contact with the relative affluence and comfort of the city center.

Listen to NPR Story Below:

Comments are closed.