Paris Celebrates Ramadan

Riposte Laïque has a flood of articles about ramadan and mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë's invitation (above) to Parisians to gather at City Hall on August 24 for the breaking of the fast. The following article by RL contributor Martine Chapouton focuses on the formal protest issued by Jacques Myard, mayor of Maisons-Laffitte (northwest of Paris) and UMP deputy in the National Assembly, against Delanoë's blatantly illegal act:

At last an elected official of the Republic emerges from his summer sleep to defend laïcité! We are not surprised that it is Jacques Myard. In 2006, he was the first one to propose a law against the burka in France, and today he is co-president of the committee on laïcité in the National Assembly. (…)

The article then prints the letter (written in the third person singular) that Myard sent to Interior Minister Claude Guéant:

Jacques Myard is scandalized by the initiative of the mayor of Paris who, backed by a publicity campaign, has invited Parisians to a great "ramadan soirée" in the salons of City Hall this August 24.

The invitation stipulates explicitly that a light Iftar - or breaking of the fast - will be served at sunset!

This invitation, sent explicitly in accordance with a religious ritual, is totally contrary to the principle of laïcité that requires religious practices to be exercised in the private sphere of each citizen. Furthermore, this type of initiative can only offend all republicans who do not wish to be involved in the religion of others. It can only provoke tensions and quarrels within our society. It is aimed solely at winning religious voters in total violation of republican principles - our guarantor for living together beyond all religions.

Jacques Myard, co-president of the committee on laïcité in the National Assembly asks all republicans to mobilize against this inadmissible initiative.

He refers this grave violation of republican principles to the Interior Minister, and asks that he restore the laws of the Republic in the Paris City Hall.

An interview between Jacques Myard and Pierre Cassen of Riposte Laïque sheds more light on the mayor's position and on Myard's shock at the invitation:

- RL: Why did you have such a reaction?

- JM: I was quite simply aghast that an elected official of the Republic would send out an invitation of this type as if he were a religious man, an imam. It's quite simply unbelievable and above all dangerous. Where will this stop?

- RL: But the mayor of Paris affirms that this ceremony is not at all religious, and he points out that the City of Paris, every year, welcomes or organizes other ceremonies of this type, such as Chanukah, Vesak, Saint Maroun, the Chinese New Year, the Berber New Year, or the Christmas tree, without ever arousing the slightest reaction. What do you think of his arguments?

- JM: They are not arguments, but proof of his desire to create confusion. Let's take the case of Christmas, it's a religious holiday for Christians with the birth of Jesus, BUT it is above all a traditional popular holiday. In the Gallic language, Noël means the new light that corresponds to the winter solstice. It's a holiday on the secular calendar. Moreover, no mayor ever sent out an invitation to the children's Christmas tree festival in the name of the birth of Jesus. The mayor's arguments are totally hypocritical.

Note: Myard's contention that Christmas is "above all" a secular event, is disappointing (and is he not confusing "secular" with "pagan"?). It's true that Christmas replaced the Saturnalia, but this is not the time to return to pre-Christian rites. It is the time to reaffirm the Christian meaning of Christmas. Laïcité forbids this, but laïcité seems powerless to stop the thrust of Islam into French civilization.

- RL: You asked the Interior Minister to restore the laws of the Republic in City Hall. Are you sure that the mayor's initiative is beyond the boundary of the laws of the Republic, and do you believe that the government, which you support, is ready to act as you would like?

- JM: There can be no doubt that it is a major violation of the principle of laïcité, I am even certain that there are legal precedents. I recall that the mayor's invitation refers directly to Ramadan which is one of the five obligations of Islam and that he expressly mentions the breaking of the fast. What more do you want? To become blind?

Later in the interview Pierre Cassen asks him for his thoughts on Muslim prayers in the streets of the 18th arrondissement and the refusal of Muslim associations to move the prayers to an army barracks offered to them by the government, on grounds it is unworthy of Islam:

- JM: You do not pray in the street. The Muslims can acquire, at a very reasonable rate, places of worship, as do other religions. It is not for the Republic to adapt to such and such a belief, but for the religion to adapt to the laws of the Republic!

While there is much to be said for deputy Myard's effort to condemn the mayor's invitation, he fails to realize that the law of 1905 creating "laïcité", or the separation of Church and State, was only intended for the Catholic Church. The other religions that existed in France at the time were too small to cause a problem. In 1905 no one anticipated millions of Muslims would enter the country. Nor does he realize that the law of 1905 has been violated so many times, it hardly matters what Delanoë does at this point. And since Jacques Myard is of the UMP party, and works with Nicolas Sarkozy, it is surprising, in a way, that he was "aghast" at the mayor's action.

The problem of the Islamization of France will not be solved until it is acknowledged that the 1905 law is no longer in effect, de facto if not de jure. Until it is rewritten in such a way that Islam and any other conquering totalitarian ideology posing as a Western-compatible religion are barred from the Republic, a large majority of French people will continue to mistakenly regard Islamization as an uncomfortable but necessary condition required by the laws of the Republic.

This is the fatal misunderstanding that is strangling the Western countries: the belief that what is happening is inevitable, and that we just have to put up with it, otherwise we are racists of some sort (and there are many sorts of racists, as we know).

Now here is a short item from François Desouche, describing the "musical exchanges" that will liven up the evening of August 24:

After the buffet that will mark the breaking of the fast, the singer Abir Nasraoui and her ensemble will present the first concert of the evening. A Tunisian musicologist, Abit Nasraoui expresses the immense vocal richness of the Arab classical tradition.

The second part of the evening will be devoted to Djerba International, a group of musicians from different horizons. Remarkably well served by the voice of Mounir Troudi, Djerba International mixes funk, jazz, rock, groove and zouk to create new sounds.

An evening of festivities and sharing awaits you!

The interesting thing is how far removed from religion this ramadan soirée is, and how the Muslims themselves have no objections. The mayor of Paris is cleverly convincing Parisians that ramadan is all about fun, open to all, sort of like a block party. We are being told that we are very wrong (and very racist) not to see that Muslims and their ramadan are no different from our own festivals, church picnics, and pop concerts.

But remember when Riposte Laïque attempted to hold an outdoor "apéro" - a party with sausage and wine - and were banned from the 18th arrondissement of Paris because the Muslims would be offended? They had to move their party to the Champs-Elysées. And they have had to face protests from Muslim associations ever since, whenever they attempt to hold a gathering.

Writer Renaud Camus, in a critique of the mayor's initiative, adds:

(We) cannot help but notice the consistency with which the Paris City Hall organizes and conducts its crusade, trying to rid major dates in the history of France from all memory and replacing them henceforth with demonstrations that celebrate the values of the "new French" and the "new France". This is with a complete disregard for the people of France and her history which the City of Paris is supposed to represent. Here is a confirmation, as if one were needed, of the meaning of the "concert for Equality" organized last July 14, that hammered home to us a little bit more the revolting slogan of discrimination and exclusion: "France is us". We are justified in fearing that Montesquieu's famous line "It is Paris that is making the French people" is only too true.