On Tuesday, French lawmakers voted on the controversial anti-radicalism bill in the lower house of the parliament and gave assent for its implementation. The bill is supposed to strengthen supervision of mosques, sports club and schools in order to safeguard the country from radical Islamists and to further promote respect for French values. The manoveure is part of the landmark project by President Emmanuel Macron.
After debating on the bill for weeks, lawmakers in the National assembly gave assent to it which was long in the making. The bill in total received 65 abstentions and passed with 347-151 voting.
While France been bloodied with terror attacks and has witnessed hundreds of its citizens who marched to Syria and French troops consisting in thousands fighting extremists in Mali, there are few who say that the bill is discriminatory against the 5.7 million Muslims, a strong community in France and the largest in Europe. Critics of the bill have also underlined the move as a political ploy by President Emmanuel Macron to lure in support from the right-wing ahead of Presidential elections that are going to take place next year.
The bill titled as- ‘Supporting respect for the principles of the republic’ envelopes most aspects of French values and life. It has been intensely resisted and argued over by some Muslims, certain lawmakers, and others who are in a state of trepidation that the country is encroaching on their essential freedom and questioning Islam and Muslims.
