Conservative Mentality

A conservative mentality has slowly been sweeping over the world: from France’s continuous legal discrimination against certain minority groups to the United States most recent election. One of the major trends within this conservative streak within the western world is what to do with the influx of Muslim migrants. Some countries like Germany are willing to open their borders and accept a large group of migrants whereas others including the United States are constantly pushing to keep migrants out for fear of terrorist attacks. France’s ideal is similar to that seen within the United States; however, it is stricter. France’s strict secularism has led to laws banning “religious clothing” in schools, an ideal which although affected other religions …show more content…
My plan would be to travel to 3 different places in France and stay in each one for about nine months so that I can get a feel for the culture of teach place. Preferably, I would stay in Paris or another large city, then in a small village, and then in a Muslim community. This way I would hear the opinions of the city-folk, of the country-men, and of the French Muslim group. Participant observation will be an important part of my research as some of the most important experiences comes from being a part of the daily life. Furthermore, by showing myself to be a part of the community more people will be willing to speak with me and rapport will easily be established. Informal interviews will offer a more casual atmosphere and allow me to receive more genuine answers and by using the audio recorder I can ensure that I don’t miss a thing. Communication with an array of people within each community will give me a well-rounded opinion of each group. Things like race, religion, age, gender, sexuality, political leaning, and political affiliation should be noted as to …show more content…
Anthropologically speaking, this study while it asses how a public religion intersects with a secular France. Other aspects that one will see is the effect of language, gender, race, and power and how these ideals come together in the daily lives of Muslims in France. The project addresses the question of religion and the power dynamic between the nation-state and the Muslim community. Does secularism mean not declaring or discriminating based on religion or does it mean removing any hint of religion from the nation-state? While this topic does delve deeper into France’s definition of secularism, it also questions the possibility of a deeper-seeded bigotry within the French culture. Furthermore, this project demonstrates a new form of Islam emerging, one that incorporates the secularism and ideals of the western world and Sharî’a