As the French newspaper “Le Figaro” reports, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in a letter addressed to the imams' countries of origin, emphasized that Muslim clerics who are already in France will be able to stay in the country after April 1 only with a new status. . At the same time, according to the letter, addressed to countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, a growing number of imams working in France must be trained on site and paid by local mosque associations.
France says no
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in February 2020 that he would take measures to combat “Islamic separatism” and foreign influence, from the location of imams to the funding of mosques. Macron said in 2020 that he would stop hosting some 300 imams sent from countries including Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey.
Darmanin recalled that mosques and states had three years to reorganize. From April 1, a “special framework” will be created that will allow mosque associations to independently hire imams and pay their salaries directly. The aim is not to prevent foreign imams from preaching in France, but to ensure that no public official from another country exercises any influence here.
According to Darmanin, this requires further development of education. The state should also quickly develop a program that respects the laws and principles of the republic. Imams' access to university education, such as that of the French Institute of Islamic Studies (IFI), which was founded a year ago, should also be supported.
Moreover, in February 2022, the “Forum of Islam in France” (Forif) was launched in Paris. The official representative body for Muslims in the country aims to help France's second-largest religious group more effectively represent and keep the government in constant contact. In terms of structure and objectives, the forum is modeled after the German Islamic Conference.
It is estimated that 6 million of France's 67 million inhabitants are Muslim. According to other estimates, it is 3.5 million.
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(tags translate)France