Thursday, September 01, 2016

French Official Proposes New Efforts To Align Muslims With French Secular Values

Al Jazeera reports that in France on Monday, Muslim leaders met with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to discuss the future of Islam in the country. The Interior Minister wants to set up three new organizations to help French Muslims align their beliefs with the secular values of France. One of the organizations would focus on integration of the Muslim faith, the second on the building of mosques, and the third on Imams. Imams would be required to use French instead of Arabic for their sermons, and they would need to "understand French values".  The move comes in the wake of new tensions in the country over full-body swim suits worn by Muslim women. (See prior posting.)