Fleeing the “Islamophobia” which the Turkish president accuses France of, hundreds of French Muslims have chosen to move to Turkey.
Thibault, a first name he chose, is 32 years old and has a full red beard. He is affable, but also a little suspicious. “The former baker from the Isère department, who converted to Islam more than seven years ago, has been living in Istanbul with his wife and two children for almost eighteen months.
Against the background of the tense situation in France regarding Islam, the couple had first settled in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Norway before seeking the Hijra: emigration to a Muslim country. “We wanted to avoid assimilation and give our children an Islamic education so that they would remain Muslims their whole lives,” Thibault explains. He and his wife first thought of Egypt and Morocco, but Turkey, which is closer to France “in terms of mentality”, was an obvious choice for them.
Today, the couple has built a new life on the Bosphorus, with their children attending a local school where, Thibault warns, “some things are a bit strange”, as secularism still plays an important role in most public schools in Turkey. But despite some administrative difficulties related to the residence permit, the 30-year-old does not regret his exile in Istanbul. Even more so when he found a cash cow six months ago: exporting goods to a mainly French and Muslim clientele. Qurans, prayer rugs, abayas, Islamic rosaries or Siwak toothpaste – that is the range of products he offers on his Instagram account. “I am so overwhelmed by demand that I can no longer fulfil all the orders, especially with Ramadan just around the corner,” he says happily.
The pro-government Turkish press organs report in numerous articles about an “exodus” of Muslims fleeing “French Islamophobia” to Turkey, but the phenomenon seems to be limited all in all. However, it is undeniable that many Muslims in France have been attracted to Turkey for several years. For example, there are at least a dozen French influencers, mostly of Maghrebi origin, who are staging their emigration to Erdogan’s country. [Zia, a 25-year-old Franco-Tunisian from Lyon whose YouTube channel is followed by over 40,000 subscribers, moved to Istanbul almost two years ago with her French-Algerian husband. In a video, she explains how to ” practice one’s lifestyle ” while avoiding falling into the idolatry of New Age spiritualities. […]Le JDD