AbstractsLaw & Legal Studies

Europe is currently embroiled in a debate over the challenges Muslim immigration poses to national identity and cultural cohesion. As nations seek the best way to accommodate the values of the mainstream while respecting the rights and beliefs of Muslim minorities, they must make decisions about what tolerance really means, and the extent to which it requires secularism. The uniquely French value of laïcité, created from universalist ideals as a French solution to what was originally a French problem, is not incompatible with strong religious identity, but it is incompatible with the public expression of faith—an expression that many Muslims believe Islam requires. This essay will explore the reasons why the concept of French identity as universal and secular challenges France's Muslim minority (and vice versa) and why the application of laïcité within a universalist framework is still the best way to foster the creation of a truly French Islam.