|
French Aide Warns Militant Mosques and Radical Muslims
Franceâs law-and-order interior minister threatened today to close any mosque in France that is considered extremist and expel any Muslim prayer leader who preaches a radical message.In an interview in the daily Le Figaro, the minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, also pledged to deny visas to Muslim participants in conferences who do not respect the values of the French state. "The Muslims are not above the law, but they are not below the law either," Mr. Sarkozy was quoted as saying. "Because I have reached out my hand, I can be very firm against all fundamentalist movements." Better check that hand and see if all the fingers are still there. More than any other official in Franceâs center-right government, Mr. Sarkozy has sought to set strict limits on the behavior of the countryâs growing Muslim community. He is determined to create an "official Islam for France" that will take Franceâs second-largest religion out of the "cellars and garages" and demonstrate that most Muslims are mainstream, law-abiding citizens. In April he was booed and whistled at when he said at the annual conference of one of Franceâs most important Muslim groups that Muslim women would have to go bareheaded when posing for pictures for their identity cards. In the interview, Mr. Sarkozy declared: "No one should expect any weakness from me. Mosques where extremist Islam is preached will be closed. Imams who give radical sermons will be expelled. And conference-goers who donât show proof of respect for republican rules will find themselves systematically denied visas to enter France." "Unless, of course, they are here to purchase French aircraft. Or missles, reactors, wine, chemicals, did I mention the wine? Or if you have any oil, Iâm sure we can talk about it. He added, "There are five million Muslims in France. Whether that makes people happy or not, itâs still a reality." Posted by: Steve 2003-09-18 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18860 |