The French government's move this year to ban the wearing of the burqa or niqhab in public led to passionate debate about multi-culturalism and national identity. Mediapart talked to Muslim men and women of different ages, backgrounds and occupations to learn their views of the issues and what it is to live with their faith in France. All of those featured in this series live in La Courneuve, a suburb north of Paris notorious for the difficult living conditions in its large social housing projects (see Black Box at bottom of page). Here, Jennifer, 28, raised in a Christian family and who "never thought she would marry a Muslim", tells how she subsequently converted to "the most sensible religion at the moral and practical levels."
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Jennifer, 28, converted to Islam in an official ceremony in April. A few years ago, she said, she would have never imagined taking this kind of decision. Jennifer, who chose to keep her given name despite her conversion, was raised in a Christian family composed of what she described as "believers but no more than that". Although never baptised, she says she has always "believed in God" and has always "said her prayers".
Married a first time, she says she was subjected to physical abuse by her husband. "The prayers helped me to put up with it. It wasn't very much, five minutes before going to bed asking Jesus Christ to help out. But it helps to tell oneself that one can be helped," she explained.
Plagued by housing problems and temporary employment contracts, life was tough on Jennifer who "always had her ex [husband] underfoot" and a little girl to feed. "I wasn't able to get on with my life," she said.
Then, one night in a nightclub, she met her future husband, who was born in France of Senegalese parents. "I never thought I would marry a Muslim. I thought they beat their wives. But I realised I was prejudiced. Someone did beat me, but it was my ex, a Frenchman."
Her new boyfriend is not a practicing Muslim, she said, "he goes out with his mates, plays poker. The only thing Muslim about him is that he doesn't eat pork". He had no expectation that Jennifer would convert. "When I was praying, he would just tease me, saying ‘I hope that's not Jesus you're praying to.' But even teasing gets irritating in the end," she added.
Looking up Islam on the internet, Jennifer "discovered that Muslims believe in Jesus, as a prophet, at least. While in the Bible, I find the difference between Jesus and God ambiguous. Islam seemed like the most sensible religion at the moral and practical levels".
For Jennifer "believing and practicing religion is the most beautiful thing in life. On the day we die, we will find ourselves before God. What will we tell him of our lives?"
When she decided to convert in the autumn of 2009, she did it online. "A website offered a conversion," she explained, adding "I had a chat [online] with someone, I think it was an Imam but I'm not sure, who asked me if I understood the consequences of conversion. I said ‘yes,' I recited the profession of faith and that was it."
Afterward, Jennifer wasn't satisfied with that. She wanted to go to the mosque like the other Muslim women. "I would see the girls with their veils and I thought they looked like princesses. Really beautiful. And really courageous to wear a veil despite the current climate," she said.
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1: In French, the term veil is used interchangeably to mean a headscarf or a veil that covers the face.
'You can’t let yourself wither away'
Used to wearing tight jeans, Jennifer changed her style of dress. "I'd been ill at ease for a long time with tight clothes. People lack morals, a sense of modesty. One day, girls will walk around naked. So the veil attracted me, it was a logical progression," she said.
But the veil didn't come right away. Between the decision to adopt it and her conversion, Jennifer took some classes at the Union des organisations islamiques de France (Union of Islamic Organisations of France) and waited seven months before her professor told her that she was ready for it. Seven months during which she questioned "life, the role of chance, nature, creation, the universe, and finally Islam," she said. Seven months during which she had times of doubt, she explained, adding "at first, it went well, but later I had some moments of discouragement. I was watching television, like I did before, and I didn't really want to get up to pray. Five prayers per day, that changes your life. Especially at first when it took me a half hour to do them while the other girls said they did them in a couple of minutes".
On the day of her conversion, Jennifer burst into tears while making her profession of faith. "Everybody came up to give me a kiss on the cheek, to congratulate me. It's a moment of self-fulfilment. I was really happy to bring a contribution to what the Lord expects of us," she said.
As for transforming her existence, "I still do as much housework," she said with a laugh, "but now I have duties to God".
She also has many questions about her new religion. "I try to ask myself less questions," she explained, adding, "at first, I was alone, I had no Muslim women friends. So I looked up things on internet to find out. Are we allowed to wear make-up? Can we wear high heels? I read that riding a bike is forbidden. Finally, after meeting some sisters, I realised I was putting too much pressure on myself. I've seen veiled women with make-up on. In a report on Turkey, I saw veiled women smoking. I decided to act according to my own rules of morality. Now, I'm trying to correct my small faults because I have a habit of often getting angry," she said.
Therefore, Jennifer continues to ride a bike, and to wear light make-up which makes her feel "more finished". She even bought a bright blue veil, explaining that "I'm not going to dress totally in black. You can't let yourself wither away. To me, feeling the hijab1 on my head is a way of not forgetting my goal which is to stay on the right path and to do good around me".
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1: Hijab can mean either a simple headscarf or a veil that covers the entire body except the hands and the eyes.