French Muslim Scholars Slam Interior Minister’s Remarks on ‘Islamist Terrorism’
During a visit to the US last Friday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin alleged a "resumption" of the terrorist threat in Europe, saying, “We have come to remind them [America] that for Europeans and for France the primary risk is Sunni Islamist terrorism and that anti-terrorist collaboration between intelligence services is absolutely essential.”
The remarks have drawn strong backlash among Muslims in France. A group of Muslim scholars and institutions also issued a joint statement to slam the remarks.
“This hostile tone is not new for the French interior minister or the current government officials, but it is a deliberate action that aims to insult Islam with an unfair and biased approach,” reads the statement as reported by Arabic media outlets.
What is new in these recent statements is targeting the Sunnis with “distortions and slander”, while the majority of Muslims in the world are Sunnis, it added.
With these “aggressive and provocative” statements that link Islam and Muslims in general with terrorism, the French interior minister shows his “biased attitude and narrow political horizon”.
In this statement, it is warned that the attempt to isolate Muslims from the rest of the French society and use double standards is aimed at creating psychological barriers to prevent interaction between different religions with Islam.
Muslim scholars invited the political elites of France to put aside cultural arrogance in dealing with Muslims and respect the religion of Islam and its beliefs and values, underlining that the presence of Islam in France is a “legitimate and permanent” presence.
The French government, led by Macron, has been accused of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim persecution under the guise of secularism and counterterrorism. Darmanin helped pass the 2021 "anti-separatism" law, which activists say targets Muslims and criminalizes Islam in civil society. The French government's approach has been criticized for lacking nuance and fueling extremism while claiming to fight it.
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