Islam versus Europe

The March of the Pigs, a protest against halal meat that was planned to take place in Lyon later this month, has been banned by order of the municipal government. Numerous Muslim organisations and left-wing groups had called for it to be stopped. The order bizarrely cites the principle of laïcité as its justification. There is no perfect equivalent in English of the French word "laïcité" but its closest approximation would be "secularism". Of course, it is ludicrous to claim that protesting against the unwanted spread of a religiously-inspired food preparation practice offends against the principle of secularism. The prohibition order also mentioned the fact that left-wing (and no doubt Muslim) groups might attack the procession. (So the liberties of citizens are now to be curtailed because of the willingness of others to commit violent crimes against them?)

With the recent announcement that the planned "Kiss-in" in front of the main mosque in Lyon has been cancelled on similar grounds, it looks as if Lyon is well on its way to becoming an Islamic republic. Certainly, de facto sharia law seems to be already in force there.

Perhaps this is not the end, though. On their website, the organisers of the March of the Pigs have promised to lodge an appeal and make the following bold declaration:

Faced with all the ayatollahs, we will ensure that fundamental public freedoms are respected, first among them the right of peaceful French citizens to demonstrate.

Nothing will stop the March of the Pigs.