At a hotel in Paris yesterday, some members of France's governing party, the Union for a Popular Movement, held a controversial debate on the nature of secularism in France. 600 religious leaders, legislators and journalists attended. The New York Times reports that the three-hour debate was initiated by President Nicolas Sarkozy and organized by the leader of his party, but some, including Prime Minister Francois Fillon, refused to take part out of concern the debate would stigmatize Muslims and push the party too far to the right. Leaders of six major religions issued a joint statement expressing concern about the debate. Those who organized the event are trying to support a Westernized version of Islam that accepts gender equality and the French cultural norm that religious beliefs are a private matter.
Meanwhile RFI reports on a successful one-year government-sponsored diploma at the Catholic Institute of Paris that teaches Muslim religious and cultural leaders about France's secular tradition. However fewer students are enrolling in reaction to France's ban on the full face veil and this week's debate on secularism, which they see as scapegoating of Muslims.
