This is what Europeans mean by Democracy: Muslim party candidates quit elections after threats in France

In more proof of France’s rightward shift, all the candidates of France’s new political party dedicated to Muslim concerns were forced to withdraw from recent regional elections due to threats and harassment.

The party’s platform is a genuinely 21st-century mix of French values and Muslim ethics. As 2nd-generation Franco-Muslims graduate to positions of social responsibility, such a party seems inevitable in a country where Islam is the 2nd-largest religion.

The socio-economic neglect of France’s Muslim community is infamous worldwide, and this lack of political attention threatens the well-being of the entire nation.

The party absolutely wants to uphold France’s secularism by seeing it actually enforced fairly. Theoretically, France’s “laicité” is not anti-religion, but perfectly neutral. In a country which has meatless Fridays but no halal, Christian crosses but no hejabs and bans on minarets but not steeples, just implementing France’s laws would be a major improvement for Muslim rights.

Equality is still a radical concept to many. Clearly, neither side is going to give up their values, so a party which can blend the best the two sides have to offer seems like the ideal compromise in a true democracy.