A 19-year-old Muslim woman recently won a court battle to have a travel ban overturned.
The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, was raised Catholic but converted to Salafist Islam two years ago. The travel ban was imposed because the woman expressed interest in going to Saudi Arabia, and her mother worried that she had “fallen into the hands of jihadist recruiters,” according to a Reuters article.
“I am a Salafist, but I am not Daesh [the Arab acronym for Islamic State],” the jilbab-wearing woman told an administrative court when she argued to have her travel ban lifted. “There is a big difference.”
A jilbab is a long, loose-fit coat or garment that covers the whole body except for the hands, face, and head. It is worn by Muslim women who believe that the jilbab fulfills the Quranic demand for a hijab.
Salafism, known as the most conservative branch of Islam, states that Muslims need to return to many older Islamic traditions and shun modern life. It is also regarded as being highly oppressive to women.
France has issued 240 travel bans on individuals suspected of having connections to radical Islamic groups such as ISIS. The bans began after the country imposed a state of emergency after the November 2015 attacks on Paris by Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers. The state of emergency was extended after the Nice killings in July of 2016. The woman’s ruling is only the tenth travel ban overturn since then.
Douina Bouzar, who works to turn young Muslims away from militant ideology, said her staff advised that the woman was a non-violent Salafist.
There are about 15,000 Salfists among France’s roughly 5 million Muslims, and the vast majority of them are non-violent.
“Yet the government treated her as though she was pro-Daesh,” said Bouzar. “That shows a lack of judgment.”
France is very secular, and “in France, we distrust everything religious,” said Samir Amghar of the European Foundation for Democracy. “It’s dangerous because you point the finger at people who consider themselves innocent and you give them the impression that Islam is undesirable in the Republic. That feeds into the jihadist ideology.”
What do you think of travel bans? Do you think this woman was in danger of being recruited by ISIS? Have you ever been the victim of a travel ban? Please share your thoughts in the comments.