| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Muslims must be discreet - Sarkozy |
| 2009-12-08 |
| FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy stoked the debate over immigration today with a warning to Muslims to practice their religion discreetly or face rejection by moderate Islam in France. Mr Sarkozy voiced sympathy for Swiss voters who opted last week to ban the construction of minarets as he tried to reassert himself in a debate over national identity which he launched last month but that has since spiraled out of his control. Over the past week, Mr Sarkozy had appeared to retreat from his original comments following a backlash over the way that they were being used against immigrants, particularly Muslims. But in a column for Le Monde, Mr Sarkozy returned to his theme and said that the result of the Swiss referendum showed how important it was for France to define its identity. "Instead of condemning the Swiss out of hand, we should try to understand what they meant to express and what so many people in Europe feel, including people in France," he wrote. "Nothing would be worse than denial." Mr Sarkozy called for tolerance and underlined France's respect for all faiths, but his message was intended primarily to reassure those who are unhappy about what they see as a threatening Muslim presence in the country. "Christians, Jews, Muslims, all believers regardless of their faith, must refrain from ostentation and provocation and ... practice their religion in humble discretion," he wrote. Addressing himself to Muslims, he wrote that anything that could appear as a challenge to France's Christian heritage and republican values would "doom to failure" a moderate Islam in France. Mr Sarkozy enjoys majority public support with his opposition to Muslim women covering their faces in public. Parliament is reviewing ways of countering the practice and may propose an outright ban next month. Opinion polls show rising unease over the population of 6 million Muslims. A survey last week found that 46 per cent favored banning minarets, with 40 per cent against. More than 40 percent opposed building any mosques, compared with only 19 per cent in favour. |
| Posted by:tipper |