During a discussion of the Paris terror attacks on Charlie Hebo, a “CNN Headline News” panel compared France to Ferguson while claiming that Muslims feel like their “bullied” and the victims of “racist acts.” (VIDEO: MSNBC Guest: ‘We Have To Respect Islam’)
HOST CAROL COSTELLO: Muslims in France, they don’t feel accepted by the country. They feel that many racist acts are carried out against them. Is the anger within France, Paris, coming from that, and not really religion?
RELIGION EDITOR DANIEL BURKE: You know what, Carol, that’s a really excellent point. I think it’s kind of like what we saw in Ferguson. This was kind of in some way the timber that lit the spark but embers were already burning. There’s a prevailing feeling in France among many Muslims that they are not treated as part of the state at large. France has a very proud and very long secular history and it’s not always done the best of integrating any of religious minorities, French Muslims included.
So there’s a feeling there that Muslims may be bullied and they may be pushed to the side. They passed a law recently that banned the full face veil, which many Muslims took as an affront because it’s a religious belief.
[h/t CNS News]