Thursday 13 June 2019

Urdu Language Classes Launched in France and Why This is Important for the French-Pakistani’s and the Muslim Community

Many of us want to visit France for its welcoming sceneries and a renowned masterpiece which is the ‘Eiffel Tower’. But how many of us understand the struggle of continuously living there? Only a fraction of us can comprehend because we are so looped within this fantasy for European countries. However, we can still agree that Urdu language classes in France means nothing but good!
Well, this happy occasion can open our eyes to the importance of knowing a mother tongue even in a foreign country. Also, this encourages people to study our language and try to find an interest in our country!
Basically, the Embassy of Pakistan in France has collaborated with “Together for Human Development (EPDH)” a French a non-governmental organization, to start Urdu classes in France.
Many Students Of Diverse Backgrounds Can Learn Urdu.
This is a great step considering that our language can get global exposure. This ensures that our language will be spoken by many nationalities and that can help with the perseverance of Urdu itself.




Moreover, the Pakistani community in France has been waiting for such an activity to start because there are a lot of French-Pakistani’s that are not fluent in Urdu. This can help bring them back to their roots and identity.
Ambassador of Pakistan Moin-ul-Haque launched the Urdu learning classes while the graduation ceremony for students enrolled in a learning and capacity building program was going on.
Islamophobia In The West:
Now, firstly, this might seem like a pleasant surprise and a generous boost for Pakistan and its national language. And that is true. However, this holds significance as well because it contributes to the reduction of Islamophobia in West or Western countries.  For More content about Islam and Islamophobia read here



France, as a part of the western world, is famous for its Islamophobic population especially after the well-known terror attack in 2015 in Paris. It was a huge incident that all of Paris still hasn’t forgotten and mourns. After the horrific attack, hatred and racial discrimination towards Muslims drastically increased. Here are some tweets from 2015 to 2016 that show how concerned people were over the rampant and obvious cases of Islamophobia throughout France.
This person shares Islamophobia of a third-person living in France, the tweet says, “Today, one akhi told me his experiences in living at France and the Islamaphobia that he received through out his life”

People have had enough of the generalization of the Islamic community in France. This user is tired of innocent Muslims being targets, “TERRORISM HAS NO RELIGION TERRORISM HAS NO RELIGION THERE IS ALREADY SO MUCH ISLAMAPHOBIA IN FRANCE SHHHHH”
Damn straight! We are thankful for this user for their simple yet impactful ideology, everyone using what has happened in France as an excuse for Islamaphobia and ableism should either get educated or the fuck off this planet”




A worthy issue with little coverage at that time, this user has had enough, “Absolutely horrific ordeal for France right now. The Islamaphobia and racism is not helping in the slightest either




Not necessarily a tweet from 2015/2016 but an important point that most of us forgot, “Sitting in wondering what would France be like if the French fought as hard against anti-African racism and Islamaphobia as it is currently celebrating winning the World Cup delivered by a team with an overwhelming majority of Africans and Muslims”




Famously in 2016, France clearly stated that women can’t wear long swimwear or swim gear on beaches. The burkini (which is a swimming suit that completely covers your body) was banned and the police in France started arresting Muslim women for wearing such fits. It was a worldwide issue where a lot of debate regarding the hideous Islamophobia saw existence.
Furthermore, Muslim girls in schools were discouraged to wear their headscarves while there wasn’t much outrage over other religious symbols/signs at schools.
The internet once again went wild over the idea of criminalizing and declaring full covering swimwear as a threat or ‘unacceptable’. Here are some of the best tweets (throughout the years, starting from the year 2016 in which the burkini got the most highlight) regarding the ban and how it is harmful to Muslim women living in France:
A valid point that a lot of people ended up missing, we shouldn’t celebrate that it isn’t banned everywhere but mourn for the fact of why is it banned in the first place, on burkini bans: people who say "at least it's not banned in all the pools or the beach like other places" ok but the whole point is why should someone else, who is paying the same exact money as I am, have more choice just because our swimsuits look different?”




Did any of us look at it with this perspective? Muslims did but the people supporting the burkini ban didn’t, “What's the time scale between the burkini being invented and then banned? Nuns have worn funny clothes for hundreds of years”




Brock Turner is a well-known rapist that barely got 6 months in jail, this user thinks it’s ridiculous the burkini is banned but this person didn’t witness a heavy punishment, “it baffles me that there are people who want the burkini banned meanwhile brock turner is walking the streets”

This is a very true statement that addresses the discrimination towards the French Muslim community clearly, “This vile oppression and utter misogyny must be banned. Oh, wait, they're not Muslim. Never mind. #France #Burkini



One of the major reasons for the dislike of Muslims in France is that Muslims are truly invested in their religion. Meaning we are pretty much inseparable from our teachings and faith. This is something that the French cannot endure because they are built on an ideology that entirely separates the state from religion.

The burkini ban literally started in 2009 or even back. The Muslim community has always been vulnerable in France and terror attacks linked with the name of Islam can cause a huge uproar.

This is why the introduction of Urdu language classes in a country with a history of Islamophobia is important. Such classes can widen their perspectives regarding Muslim countries and encourage French citizens to look more into our culture.

What do you think of the situation? Is this a great step for Pakistan or is it only short-term?

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