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French government disgusted by attack on Muslim centre
 [AlAhram] The French government condemned the defacing of an Islamic cultural centre in western La Belle France with Islamaphobic slogans, and said an attack on Moslems was an attack on the RepublicThe tags, daubed on the side a building used as a prayer room in the city of Rennes, were found shortly before the Moslem holy month of Ramadan begins in La Belle France on Tuesday. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said it was a disgusting attack against the fundamental freedom to believe in a religion and that Moslems deserved the same protection as any other religious group in La Belle France. "Attacks against Moslems are attacks against the Republic," Darmanin said after he visited the site. Among the slogans scrawled on the building were "Catholicism - religion of the state" and "No to Islamification". The French Council of the Moslem Faith (CFCM), one of the main groups representing Moslems in La Belle France, called the incident an "unbearable aggression". The French Council of the Moslem Faith was a post-9/11 Nicolas Sarkozy initiative, when he was French interior minister, to create an elected Muslim council with which the government could deal instead of however many thousands of clerics and independent organizations. Not all its members agreed with President Macron’s latest initiative on the subject, but I haven’t heard how or if that was resolved. "As Ramadan approaches and in the face of a surge in anti-Moslem acts, the CFCM calls on Moslems in La Belle France to be vigilant," the association said on Twitter.La Belle France follows a strict form of secularism, known as "laicité", which is designed to separate religion and public life. Darmanin, a conservative in President Emmanuel Macron's government, is the main sponsor of legislation passing through parliament which the government says is designed to tackle what it describes as encroaching fundamentalism that is subverting French values. Senior representatives of all religions were consulted during the drafting and the CFCM supports the bill. While the legislation does not single out Islam, some critics say it points the finger at Moslems. Related: Rennes: 2020-12-17 Far-Left Anarchist Extremists Indicted Over Terror Plot To Kill Police Rennes: 2020-01-05 Outdoor heaters banned in French city to tackle climate change Rennes: 2019-07-16 French gov't supports youth project with ties to Palestinian terror group Posted by: trailing wife 2021-04-12 |
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