EXTREMISM straddles both sides of the spectrum — secularism and religion.
And unfortunately, when it comes to extremism by a very small group in the name of Islam, the knee-jerk reaction is Islamophobia, that is, the religion itself is tarred as being the source of the problem.
Just look at President Emmanuel Macron's ambition to "reform" Islam in France on the ground that the religion is in "crisis" by way of a centralised state sanctioned authority without any hint of irony given that this actually undermines the very essence of the secularism that he professes to uphold.
Firstly, on the extremist response to blasphemy of the Prophet, like the killing of a school teacher, represents only a very small minority of Muslims. It cannot be strongly emphasised enough that majority of mainstream Muslims don't condone such violence and mayhem.
The Charlie Hebdo-linked shooting was isolated and it has also to be noted that, yet again, nothing had substantially changed since.
Meaning that the cartoons and portrayals of Prophet Muhammad remain in place and not subject to a ban by the French authorities, taking into account the deep sensitivities of Muslims both in the Republic, as well as the world over.
An earlier incident, which took place on Sept 25 in conjunction with the republication of the Prophet's caricatures ahead of the trial of accomplices in the Charlie Hebdo shooting, ostensibly involved a Pakistani-born refugee.
The point is that the vast majority of Muslims in France, or French Muslim citizens, have had to "make do" and continue to "come to terms" with the reality of Western secularism. As such, it cannot be denied that French Muslims, by and large, continue to abide by the principle of "live and let live" whilst, of course, being strongly opposed to such blasphemous acts from extreme secularists as embodied by Charlie Hebdo, no less, without in any way diminishing or denying the evil that has been perpetrated.
On Nov 2, the Grand Mosque of Paris, together with the Federation of Mosques in France, issued a clear, resounding statement that unabashedly condemned all forms of terrorism in an unqualified manner, and even went so far as to express and exhibit a patriotic and nationalistic spirit by rejecting and denouncing foreign calls to boycott French products.
It's clear, however, that the republic isn't expected to empathise in any way at all with the way of life of Muslims. And herein lies also part of the root of the problem. This brings us to the issue of secularism, as understood and practised in France, seemingly so absolute that there's simply no room for any compromise at all.
In other words, going by the reiteration of Macron that where freedom of expression must be preserved at all costs is concerned, there is simply no room for reforming secularism at all. Surely such inflexibility flies in the face of the ultimate objective of secularism, which is to adapt to the context of the times, properly speaking, without sacrificing its core tenets.
In the same way, religious worldviews and practices accommodate pluralism in the form of mutual respect, acceptance and tolerance without in any way undermining faith.
Isn't it the case, therefore, that this type of secularism as practised in France could be said to be not much different from religious extremism?
The ultimate point is that Macron is wrong to insist that Islam is in crisis and that the latest violent incident remains unrepresentative of Islam embodied by the Quran, and of Muslims in general. In short, extremism mustn't give rise to Islamophobia.
What's the solution then? The incident should serve as a wake-up call to France to read just its laïcité vision and ideals to meet the challenges of a globalised and pluralistic society.
It'd be supremely ironic if secularism doesn't adapt in order to preserve its core principles and values while, at the same time, having that audacity and brazenness to take the moral high ground over and against religion.
That'd only serve to perpetuate extremism and Islamophobia.
The writer is head of social, law & human rights at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research