Islamist separatismMacron: Islamist Separatism Incompatible with Freedom, Equality, Indivisibility of France
Fighting “Islamist separatism” in France, but without stigmatizing the Muslims of France: These were the two themes in a major speech given by President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, 18 February. “Islamist separatism is incompatible with freedom and equality, incompatible with the indivisibility of the Republic and the necessary unity of the nation,” Macron said, adding: “In the Republic, we cannot accept the refusal to shake a woman’s hand because she is a woman; in the Republic, we cannot accept that someone refuses to be treated or educated by someone else;… in the Republic, certificates of virginity cannot be required [as a condition for] marriage; in the Republic, one should never accept that the laws of religion are superior to the laws of the Republic. It’s that simple.”
Fighting “Islamist separatism” in France, but without stigmatizing the Muslims of France: These were the two themes in a major speech given by President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Mulhouse on Tuesday, 18 February.
“Islamist separatism is incompatible with freedom and equality, incompatible with the indivisibility of the Republic and the necessary unity of the nation,” Macron said in a speech to local officials and residents in the restive neighborhood of Bourtzwiller, the most densely populated neighborhood of Mulhouse, in the Haut-Rhin département of Alsace in north-east France.
Macron stressed that he was not calling for “a plan against Islam” because that “would be a profound mistake.” “It is not a question of stigmatizing any religion,” he added after speaking with law enforcement personnel, elected officials, and leaders of neighborhood associations.
Macron stated:
In the Republic, we cannot accept the refusal to shake a woman’s hand because she is a woman; in the Republic, we cannot accept that someone refuses to be treated or educated by someone else; in the Republic, one cannot accept [children being] out of school; in the Republic, certificates of virginity cannot be required [as a condition for] marriage; in the Republic, one should never accept that the laws of religion are superior to the laws of the Republic. It’s that simple.
Macron announced several “strong” measures, being worked on for several months by the government – among them that France would no longer welcome “unaffiliated imams” sent to France by other countries, such as Turkey and Algeria. He did not say when this measure will go into effect. He also announced that the practice of allowing 300 Muslim “psalm singers” from Muslim countries into France during Ramadan would be ended.
Le Figaro reports that until now, in order to meet the needs of understaffed mosques, France has allowed unaffiliated imams – that is, imams who were not affiliated with specific mosques in Muslim countries – to come and preach in France. France has reached bilateral agreements with several Muslim countries to fund their travel and salaries of these imams as they ministered to French Muslims. There are now about 300 such imams working in France — 150 from Turkey, 120 from Algeria, and 30 from Morocco.
