The minaret of the Grand Mosque in Paris | Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images Quarter of French Muslims follow hardline Islam: study Officials silent on study recommending use of ethnic and religious statistics.

PARIS — A study showing that more than a quarter of French Muslims follow hardline Islam is causing discomfort for the political class, which is united in ignoring its conclusions.

Among the survey's eye-catching findings are that 28 percent of Muslims questioned follow an "authoritarian" interpretation of texts advocating a break with French society; or that more than 40 percent of young Muslims (aged 15-25) consider Islamic Sharia law more important than the secular law of France.

"They (young French Muslims) feel rejected," Hakim El Karoui, who co-authored the report for the Institut Montaigne think tank, told TF1 TV Sunday. "French society is sending them the message: you are not French. In a way they are getting revenge by hanging on to the identity they have."

The embrace of hardline Islam was strongest among young Muslims who lacked jobs or strong qualifications, added El Karoui. Overall, a plurality of French Muslims -- 46 percent -- considered the practice of their religion totally compatible with local rules and customs.

Groundbreaking silence

The study should be causing waves. It's the first major snapshot of how French Muslims view their own beliefs to be published in France, and it comes after a wave of Islamist-inspired terrorist attacks.

Its publication also follows a lengthy, anguished debate about whether or not Muslim women should be allowed to wear the burkini -- an Islamic swimwear garment that some French politicians criticized as the symbol of a militant, invading religion.

And yet, public reaction to the study is partial, and strained.

Robert Ménard, a far-right mayor known for his provocative positions, tweeted a link to the report, followed by the question: "Is a confrontation [with Islam] inevitable?"

Left-wing magazine Télérama took a sarcastic stance, calling the findings "unsurprising" and criticizing the study's methodology.

And public officials? They did not react at all.

"For the time being it's total silence from the administration," Fanny Anor, one of the study's co-authors, said. "What we are trying to do is create data that allows us to analyze these questions based on solid evidence, so we can avoid debating purely on impressions."

"But that's a very uncomfortable position for the government," she added.

Statistical Catch-22

The discomfort stems from an unwillingness to accept the intrusion of evidence into a debate long ruled by the abstract principles of "equality" and "secularism."

While Prime Minister Manuel Valls has repeatedly voiced alarm over the spread of "political Islam" in France, the Montaigne study shows where it's coming from: young Muslims who lack jobs and professional skills, and feel as though the French state has turned its back on them.

To rekindle faith in the French system, the study's authors argue, France should bring the alienated population into the workforce by overriding hiring discrimination through the use of ethnic and religious statistics.

But Republican orthodoxy forbids using ethnic statistics -- even when other studies proved the link between poor hiring prospects and having a Muslim-sounding last name.

Religious statistics are not forbidden, on condition that information is given willingly by the subject. But that fact was lost on some Twitter users, who criticized the report for using "illegal" methods.

"They [politicians] feel trapped," added Anor. "After the terrorist attacks, it's an awkward camp to be in, arguing for measures to fight discrimination."

Until the taboo is lifted, debates on what it means to be French are likely to remain abstract, passion-filled -- and devoid of policy-based solutions.

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