A new report on Islam in France attempts to confront the spread of jihad ideology and how to assimilate Muslims into French society.
Key concerns include the involvement of foreign funders – especially Saudi and Turkish – of Islamic entities, and the fact many Muslims learn Arabic not at school but in the mosques.
The problem is the same for virtually every Western society, and one wonders how often this needs to be repeated. The solution? End such funding, as suggested by the report. Unfortunately, the report also suggests “the creation of an independent French Islamic organization that will supervise all issues linked to the Islam faith, and promote the learning of Arabic at schools.”
Western nations do not need Islamic organizations supervising issues “linked to the Islam faith.” Nor are large numbers of Muslims likely to accept such organizations. Western authorities need to be monitoring Islamic institutions for the safety and well-being of all citizens.
“France Grapples With Proposals to Counter Radical Influences Among French Muslims,” by Fayçal Benhassain, CNS News, September 1 , 2018:
Paris (CNSNews.com) – A new report on Islam in France is stoking debate between those who believe its proposals will help counter the spread of radical thought, and those concerned that they would work against attempts to assimilate Muslims into French society.
Coming at a time when many European countries continue to grapple with issues of Islamist radicalization, the report is now under consideration by President Emmanuel Macron, who told lawmakers in July that he plans to take decisions on the organization of French Islam in the fall.
The report’s author is Hakim El Karoui, an expert on Islam and senior fellow at the Paris-based thinktank, Institut Montaigne. He said in media interviews this week that foreign countries in the Muslim world have too much influence with French Muslims, and that the time to act is now.
In the report’s crosshairs is Salafism, the theology that underpins extremist interpretations of Islam. Key concerns include the involvement of foreign funders – especially Saudi and Turkish – of Islamic entities, and the fact many Muslims learn Arabic not at school but in the mosques.
The report proposes the creation of an independent French Islamic organization that will supervise all issues linked to the Islam faith, and promote the learning of Arabic at schools.
It also suggests a tax on halal products, to finance the envisaged new organization, build and maintain mosques, and train and pay imams – rather than expose French Muslims to foreign funding and influences.
El Karoui said the envisaged new Muslim Association for Islam in France would be totally independent of Muslim countries.
It would collect the halal products’ taxes to finance Islam in France, organize and control French Muslims’ annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and work to limit the influence of Salafists in France.
“The number of Salafists [in France] is growing and they have a kind of monopoly in the Muslim discourse,” he said, adding that Muslims under 35 years of age are especially affected…….