France's first Muslim school raises hopes - and concern

"We want Muslim youths to feel at ease. They should realize it's possible to be French and Muslim. The one doesn't exclude the other," says Makhlouf Mameche, the deputy director of the new school in South-Lille.

The 14 pupils - 8 boys and 6 girls - who have enrolled so far will follow France's national education program, but have the option to take courses in Islamic culture and Arabic language. "We are not a religious school. We are open to everyone - girls, boys, Muslims, non-Muslims," he says.

"The school is a laboratory which will lead to the creation of other secondary Muslim schools in the future," he says, adding that he has had inquiries from other Muslim leaders keen to start schools elsewhere in France.

Donors will cover the school's running costs per annum for the next five years, after which it would be eligible for state funding. Pupils pay tuition fees of about $1,170 per year.

Mameche denies the school has "foreign support," a sensitive issue in France because some mosques financed from abroad are suspected of spreading radical Islam. The Al Imane Mosque is reportedly owned by the Islamic League of the North, a member of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, which is said to be close to Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Ms. Costa-Laxcoux says there is a "significant" presence of fundamentalist Muslim groups in France, who have made "hostile declarations" against the state.

But, she says, the government has to "play the game of democracy" and can step in only when "unacceptable practices" come to light. "We have to wait and see."

Fears of fundamentalism are not limited to the state. The Muslim community is "suspicious" of the school, says Aissa Boukanoun, an Algerian-born expert on Islam at the University of Lille.

"This type of school is a way of saying: 'We don't want to integrate.'" he says. But he says a private school could offer a "refuge" for Muslims who are discriminated against in public schools.

One local shop owner sees a need for a Muslim school.

"But it's too early. French society is not yet ready for it," he says. "It makes no sense to impose a school on the community - it will only be a handicap for our children in the future, because they will be educated in one world, which is completely different from the world outside," he says.

Mameche is adamant that the school will unite rather than divide the community in the long term.

"It's normal that there are doubts, we are the first. We still have to prove ourselves, but there is no reason why we won't."

• Last of three parts. The first two ran Oct. 10 and Oct. 14.

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