A 32 year old Moroccan, married to a French citizen and mother to three children in France, was refused French nationality for adopting a radical practice of her religion, which is socially incompatible with the basic values of France, notably the principle of gender equality.
For the first time in France the Council of State took into account the level of religious practice to determine a foreigner's ability to integrate. Until now, in the Muslim community, only people considered connected to fundamentalist movements were denied French nationality, and none had appealed
In the case of Faiza M., her clothes and private life were used to confirm the refusal of French nationality. She had appealed the 2005 decision, which refused her citizenship due to lack of assimilation, citing the religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution and saying that since she had arrived in France in 2000 she had never sought to challenge the basic values of the Republic.
Government commissioner Emmanuelle Prada-Bordenave pointed to meetings which the couple had with the social services and the police. On three occasions Faiza M. showed up with the robes of a woman from the Arabian peninsula, with a veil covering her face and leaving only a slit for her eyes.
The couple had admitted that they are Salafi, a movement of Islam which advocates a literal and rigorous reading of the Koran, following the lifestyle of Mohammed's original followers.
Faiza M. had confirmed that she was not veiled when she lived in Morocco and that she had adopted the dress after arriving in France at the request of her husband, and that she does so more out of habit than conviction.
The government commissioner says that her statement show that she leads leads a secluded life, cut off from French society. She does not know about laïcité or the right to vote and she lives in total submission to the men in her family. Faiza M. appears to think that this normal and doesn't think of contesting this submission. Prada-Bordenave says this is indicative of the lack of adherence to the basic values of French society.
At the same time, Faiza M. speaks French, which is a criteria for citizenship, and during her pregnancy was checked by a male gynecologist.
Faiza M. cannot appeal the decision and may reapply for citizenship when she had shown that she endorses the values of the Republic.
Source: Le Monde (French)
