However, his insistence on not banning the caricatures has set the Muslim world on fire. This attitude of saying “If you don’t like it here then just leave,” smacks of immaturity and insensitivity, particularly when an overwhelming number of current French Muslims were born there. The modern French Republic was founded on the basis of secularism and, just like Islam is woven into the collective psyche of most Muslims, secularism is intertwined with the collective French psyche. Moreover, the French follow what is technically known as “assertive” secularism, which is in sharp contrast to “passive” secularism followed by countries like the United States. In fact, they deliberately go out of their way to mock religion to show the extent of their secularism.

Source: The Express Tribune October 31, 2020 11:02 UTC