Teen's Comment Sparks Heated Debate in France on the Freedom of Expression
Marine Le Pen expressed strong support for a teen accused of spreading a hate message towards Islam on Instagram. (Wikimedia)
A teenager’s critique of Islam on Instagram reignited a long debate in France over the freedom of expression and messages of hatred on January 30. After labeling the Koran as “full of hate,” the 16-year-old Mila received death threats that led her to accept protection from the police and temporarily leave school for safety reasons.
Some viewers attacked her for being lesbian and accused her of insulting “our God Allah,” saying that she will “burn in hell.” In a later post, she explicitly criticized Islam using vulgar language while claiming that she is not racist because “you cannot be racist towards a religion.” These comments evoked attacks that included death threats, and she revealed that she “received 200 messages of pure hatred per minute.”
The secular nature of the French government permits residents to express their opinions towards religion, but her comments have sparked reactions from all sides of the debate between freedom of expression and hate crime. Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet called the death threats “unacceptable in [a] democracy,” but she also criticized Mila’s remarks as “an infringement on freedom of conscience.” Critics were quick to condemn Belloubet’s remarks. Senator Laurence Rossignol rated Belloubet a “zero out of 20 on constitutional rights,” explaining that “it is forbidden to insult followers of a religion, but one can insult a religion.”
Some people have taken more opinionated stances. Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen openly praised Mila for demonstrating “more courage than the entire political class in power for the past 30 years.” On the other end of the spectrum, Abdallah Zekri, a senior member of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), stated “you reap what you sow” and that she “asked for [the death threats].” However, the President of the CFCM, Mohammed Moussaoui, took a more reserved stance by making it clear that “nothing justified death threats.” Former Social presidential candidate Segolene Royal attempted to reconcile these two views, expressing that Mila had the freedom to criticize a religion but should have shown more “respect, manners and knowledge.”
Supporters online used #JeSuisMila (I Am Mila) to defend her position, while critics opted for #JeNeSuisPasMila (I Am Not Mila). In an interview, Mila herself apologized for using “vulgarity” and for insulting people who practice their religion in peace. However, she also expressed that “I absolutely do not regret what I said, it was really my thoughts.”
The local government launched an investigation to determine whether Mila was guilty of committing a hate crime. They dropped the charges after concluding that she expressed a “personal opinion” rather than “incite[d] hatred” towards people who practice a certain religion. The second ongoing investigation involves searching for the authors of the death threats.
“Affaire Mila” has become another event in the wider debate on how France should walk the fine link between upholding secularism, which permits the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion, and preventing expressions that openly attack people who hold certain religious views.