At a press conference on Wednesday following a cabinet meeting, French Prime Minister Jean Castex declared that the new proposed law does not target religious freedom but is aimed at “the nefarious ideology of radical Islamism”.

The French government has unveiled a new law aimed at tackling radical Islamism following a spate of terror attacks in a country where the Muslim community is the largest in Europe.

These attacks included the gruesome murder in October of Samuel Paty, a high school history teacher who was attacked in the street and beheaded by an Islamist terrorist after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed during a discussion on the topic in a class.

Originally titled ‘’anti-separatism law’’ by French President Emmanuel Macron, it is now called  a ‘’law to strengthen republican values,” including mainly secularism and freedom of expression.

At a press conference on Wednesday following a cabinet meeting, French Prime Minister Jean Castex declared that the text does not target religious freedom but is aimed at “the nefarious ideology of radical Islamism”.

He described the text as “a law of freedom, of protection and emancipation in the face of religious fundamentalism.”

Acknowledging that Islamist radicalisation can be homegrown as well as imported, the French government is targeting associations and mosques in France that it suspects of spreading jihadist ideology.  Some of the mosques have been shut down.

“The enemy of the Republic is a political ideology called radical Islamism, which aims to divide the French among themselves,” Castex said.

He repeated in an interview with daily Le Monde that the law doesn’t target Muslims by aims to “free Muslims from the growing grip of radical Islamism”.

The proposed law would make it easier to stop mosques from receiving foreign financing, and would also offer protection to moderate community leaders who are in danger of being toppled by an extremist “putsch”.

The la also proposes stricter criteria for authorising home schooling of children over three years old in a bid to prevent parents taking their children out of public schools and enrolling them in underground Islamic structures.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been targeted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for ‘’attacking’’ Islam. Macron responded by saying:   “I will not allow anybody to claim that France, or its government, is fostering racism against Muslims.’’

In October, Macron said “Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today”  and announced plans for tougher laws to tackle what he called “Islamist separatism” and defend secular values.

‘’Denouncing policies targeting Islamists as “Islamophobia” bundles all Muslims together with the radical minority that is precisely attempting to prevent their integration with society as a whole. It’s a trap,’’ wrote Benjamin Haddad,

‘’While pointing to a “crisis” within Islam, Macron was careful to distinguish the majority of French Muslims living and observing peacefully from the radical minority that poses a threat,’’ he added in an article published in Foreign Policy.