France's MuslimsDelicate balance: Fighting extremist Islamists while guarding against anti-Muslim backlash

The terror attack on Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris has shed more light on the problem France is facing dealing with extremist elements in its Muslim population. Hundreds of young French Muslims have already traveled to Syria and the Middle East to join Islamic militant groups, including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Counterterrorism experts conclude that most of those who have returned to France are now equipped with the skills to plan and carry out a terror attack.

As is the case with many young Muslims who have recently joined militant groups, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, the two brothers involved in the Charlie Hebdo attack, were French-born, leaving many in France to wonder how fellow Europeans could have become violent extremists.

According to the Boston Globe, most French people have taken it for granted that being a French citizen would trump all aspects of multiculturalism and religion. The French ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity would be the common denominator, they believed.

Yet the reality for many Muslim immigrants to France, and for many born in France to newly arrived immigrants, , are the grimy banlieues, the ugly and impersonal “suburbs” consisting of exposed-concrete housing projects on the outskirts of large French cities. The banlieues are where many immigrants from Algeria, Morocco and other Muslim countries in Africa – and, more recently, the Middle East – live. These shantytowns are also where the most radical elements of the Muslim population effectively market their ideology to young, vulnerable, and largely under-educated and unemployed Muslim men. The New York Times notes that French governments have typically paid little attention to the situation in these suburbs, which many in France refer to as “no-go” zones.

The overwhelming majority of people who live in the banlieues are peaceful citizens who want nothing more than live a normal life, and they are now concerned that anti-Islamic elements in French society may retaliate for the Charlie Hebdo attack.

“All Muslim organizations in France are concerned about the numerous anti-Muslim acts seen in the past few days and call on the authorities to be vigilant to ensure the security of mosques,” said Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Great Mosque of Paris and president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls confirmed on Monday that a number of mosques had been attacked following the Charlie Hebdo terror attack. In some instances, religious buildings were set on fire, and in one case, a pig’s head was stuck to a prayer room door. Valls said that thousands of police and soldiers deployed to provide security to Jewish schools and synagogues would also “watch over mosques. “Oui, la France est en guerre contre le terrorisme, le djihadisme et l’islamisme radical. La France n’est pas en guerre contre l’islam et les musulmans” (France is at war against terrorism, jihadism and radical Islam. France is not at war against Islam and Muslims), Valls told the French Parliament on Tuesday, to a standing ovation.

One of the twelve victims in the Charlie Hebdo attack was French Muslim Ahmed Merabet, a policeman of Algerian descent. Merabet’s brother, Malek, told reporters about his brother’s dedication to defend the values of the French republic. “He was killed by false Muslims,” said Merabet. He later urged the public to reject anti-Muslim propaganda. “I address myself now to all the racists, Islamophobes and anti-Semites. One must not confuse extremists with Muslims. Mad people have neither color or religion.”

French officials have called on Muslim leaders to take proactive steps to remove extreme elements from the Muslim community. Some mosque leaders have taken on the challenge. During last Friday’s prayer service, a sign outside of the Grande Mosque of Saint-Etienne read, “I am Charlie” and “They want to put out the stars! We will relight them!”