Deliver Us from Evil

When three parishes invited me to conduct adult formation series during Lent, I was prepared for lots of interesting questions, but this one caught me off guard: “Since the US is a country rooted in Christianity, do you think our culture will be disrupted by the rising visibility and influence of Islam?” Off the top of my head, I suggested that we should observe how Islam is changing life in France. Of course, I didn’t expect American Catholics to do their own observations, and, on the other hand, American media have not exactly jumped to cover the phenomenon, so I’ve done my own homework. What follows is my personal report of a development that we Americans may also face before very long.

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France has long been called “the oldest daughter of the Church,” but now it has also become the “Muslim capital of the West. “ The major after-effect of French colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East has been a huge influx of French-speaking Arab (mostly Muslim) immigrants since 1960, so that Islam has become the #2 religion in France. Now there are more French Muslims than either French Protestants or French Jews—and many people believe there are more practicing Muslims than practicing Catholics. If Catholic immigration changed Protestant America a century ago, now Muslim immigration is changing Catholic France in much the same way.

For tourists, Islam’s prominence in Paris is marked mainly by the Institute of the Arab World and the Mosque of Paris, two impressive establishments not far apart on the edge of the left bank. But the heart of Muslim Paris is Belleville, a right bank neighborhood far off the beaten tourist track.

Actually, Belleville isn't just an Arab quarter—it is in fact as cosmopolitan as any neighborhood in Paris, a city as cosmopolitan as any in America. Most of Belleville is a slope capped by the Parc de Belleville, where on fine spring Saturday I could see not only a panorama of Paris spread below me, but also a rainbow of women, men and children all around me—Asians Blacks, whites, Arabs. Strolling through the park’s lower end, I saw a cluster of Arab women in long robes and head-veils, gathered together on park benches. Five minutes further down the slope I found the men, standing near the Couronnes subway stop, wearing head caps and speaking Arabic.

Signs of Arab culture were everywhere on the street: Couscous bistros and Middle-East groceries; travel agents offering packages to Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco; Kids sporting soccer jerseys for North African and Mediterranean teams; A woman crossing the street in full-length black veil, even her face covered, holding hands with a man in white head-cap, full white robe, and basketball shoes; An Algerian pastry shop with 60 varieties of tiny pastries displayed under a glass counter; A teen-age girl wearing a full-length lavender robe over jeans, a white baseball cap, and cellular earphone; Muslim bookstores featuring religious education materials for all age groups; Tea parlors with chairs lined up with men sipping tea and smoking tall water-filled hookahs. A shop selling “Ready-to-Wear” robes and veils.

Half a block down the street a butcher stood in his shop doorway, next to a poster advertising the “21^st annual meeting of French Muslims,” sponsored by the National Union of Islamic Organizations. I noticed the conference title was written in both French and Arabic: “What is the Place for Freedom of Religion in Today’s Society?” I also notice the conference dates are already passed.

So I introduced myself and, pleading a journalist’s interest, asked the butcher if I may have the poster. Not only did he immediately pull it down for me, he also promptly offered his own opinion: “All this controversy is just people making cinema.”

For American Catholics, even the English translation needs translating: “Controversy” refers to recent conflicts over public acceptance of Islam—particularly about forbidding Muslim girls to wear veils in public schools. “Making cinema” is a French expression for play-acting, for creating unnecessary drama or conflict, usually with an ulterior motive or hidden agenda. In short, the friendly butcher was convinced much of the tension over the growing Arab presence is manufactured. He does not say by whom.

“Freedom means doing what I want,” he continues. “Everyone has their own religion. It’s in their heart.”

So people should be allowed to do whatever they want?

“If a girl wants to wear a veil, let her wear it. Now, if someone else makes her wear it, that’s something else.”

That remark made me wonder of he thought some of the conflict over veils in school was part of some wider campaign by religious extremists to agitate the public?

“Well,” he said, “I think there are some bastards—excuse my language—be they Muslim, or Christian, or Jewish, who are trying to turn religion into business.”

And, I asked, you don't like the idea that some people might profit by promoting religious conflict?

“God made the earth and everything on it,” he replied. “He didn’t just make the Muslims, or Christians or Jews.” I guessed he meant that each religion offered a way of responding to God’s love, rather than a monopoly of access to God or a means of personal profit. But before I could find out for sure, he excused himself when a colleague called from inside the shop. “Excuse me,” he said, “I must return to my meat.” I thanked him and walked on, poster in hand.

Over the next few days I met and talked with Muslims in several parts of Paris. In fact, most of the places I hang out in Paris (bistros and cafes and sandwich shops) are owned by families from Tunisia, Morroco, Algeria. Again and again I found the same attitudes: a rejection of extremism, an openness to other people and other peoples’ faiths, and a willingness to integrate into Western society while introducing elements from Arab culture.

All this in a country targeted by terrorists long before 9/11: a hijacked airliner failed to crash the Eiffel tower in 1994, but the Paris subway suffered two murderous bombings in 1995 and 1996.

One Catholic leader I spoke to, in fact, warned me that many French Christians still harbor ignorant stereotypes about Muslims. Most have never explored Belleville as I did, have never spent time talking with Muslims, and still imagine “Muslims” or “Arabs” living in tents, riding black Arabian horses, and slashing wildly at infidels with huge swords. The elegance and sophistication of Arab culture is still unknown to them. This week’s events in Iraq may only reinforce such stereotypes.

My conclusion: if integration is still so far from complete even in the “Arab capital of the West,” we should not be surprised that many Americans suffer fear of the unknown when imagining the prospect of Islam in America. All the more reason we should be preparing our people for what is to come.

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