It has become state law in France to ban all public prayers. As of Friday 16th of September 2011, no prayers shall be conducted in public. This move has brought up a lot of controversy in the country as the main religion affected is the Islamic faith; a faith that is widely believed by its followers to be targeted by right wing European governments.
Muslims gather to pray 5 times a day, their maximum numbers are often during Friday noon prayers; the numbers which exceed the capacity of their masjids and thus pray outside in public. The move is seen by many to be targeting those who over-flood the masjids and pray outside, many feel the move is trying to prevent people from praying. Many "religious leaders" have asked the government for more space as the worshipers would not be flooding the streets should there be enough space to pray in. This brings up the notion that if the government does not provide the space nor allow prayer outside then they are effectively preventing people from praying. This along with other moves such as the banning of 'burkas' "for security reasons" is creating a feeling of defensiveness against Islamophobia.
In my opinion, I don't believe that the Muslim community should be bothered too much by this just as they were not bothered by the Burka ban. The move has been placed on all forms of worship and thus should be assumed that other religions must comply. Also, the move is not a direct prevention of prayer. I feel the same sentiments that my brothers and sisters feel: "they're trying to stop us" or "they hate that they see us praying in numbers", this may well be true, but we should not let it get to us. Simply follow the proper procedures and ask for more space, wouldn't it be great to get a grand masjid in the middle of Paris? That seems far-fetched but if that is blocked the true intentions would be clear. European governments as a whole need to understand that Muslims are part of Europe now, the governments are the ones that invited the immigrants! Live together or turn into the Nazis and treat Muslims like they treated the Jews.
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