Excited children shout out the answers during a Sunday afternoon
Arabic class at the grand mosque in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil. The
mosque has thousands of worshipers and is one of the largest in Western
Europe.
Aboubakar Sabri is a part-time imam there. During the week he runs a successful elevator-construction firm in Paris. Sabri came to France from Morocco in 1980 for doctoral studies at the Sorbonne, then stayed and raised three daughters.
He says Muslims can live perfectly well in French secular society.
"We've succeeded in France, and we are totally integrated," he says. "Our kids attend the public schools. We love France. On Friday we say prayers for France, because if France is in good shape so are we. We are all in the same boat."
These days there is a lot of talk about the couple hundred Muslims suspected of being involved in extremist activities — and about those who feel excluded from French society.
But the fact remains that France has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe — a number estimated to be anywhere between 5 million and 8 million — and the vast majority are integrated into French society and helping shape the future of the country.
Read more: Many French Muslims Find Lives Of Integration, Not Separation : Parallels : NPR
Aboubakar Sabri is a part-time imam there. During the week he runs a successful elevator-construction firm in Paris. Sabri came to France from Morocco in 1980 for doctoral studies at the Sorbonne, then stayed and raised three daughters.
He says Muslims can live perfectly well in French secular society.
"We've succeeded in France, and we are totally integrated," he says. "Our kids attend the public schools. We love France. On Friday we say prayers for France, because if France is in good shape so are we. We are all in the same boat."
These days there is a lot of talk about the couple hundred Muslims suspected of being involved in extremist activities — and about those who feel excluded from French society.
But the fact remains that France has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe — a number estimated to be anywhere between 5 million and 8 million — and the vast majority are integrated into French society and helping shape the future of the country.
Read more: Many French Muslims Find Lives Of Integration, Not Separation : Parallels : NPR
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