Islamic separatism in France: Confrontations begin with inspection of mosques and militant imams
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmannn started the process
of confronting the so-called "Islamic separatism" adopted by radical
Islamist groups in the country, announcing on Wednesday evening, December 3,
the start of an unprecedented campaign to search 76 mosques belonging to these
groups in different regions of the country, 18 of which could be vulnerable to immediate
measures. The list includes 16 mosques in Paris alone.
The operation comes in light of external and internal
political conditions from which the country suffers, reaching the point that
protests took place in the streets during the previous two weeks of the
memorandum issued by the minister, who has Algerian roots. The Reference
reviews the reasons and repercussions.
Background
These confrontations between the French regime and the
radical groups is nothing new, as there were signs of this confrontation even
before the killing of the 47-year-old French teacher Samuel Patty due to his
presentation of cartoons insulting to the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him
and grant him peace) to his students. The perpetrator of the crime, 18-year-old
Abdullakh Anzorov, was killed by police shortly after the attack, but the
crisis extends beyond that against the backdrop of the spread of mosques funded
by political or radical Islamist groups in France that adopt separatist ideas.
Qatari and Turkish funding for radicalization
In recent years, the French authorities have already begun
to pay attention to the danger of these groups, and they cling to some strings
that confirm the relationship of their members to the parent groups in the
Middle East. These groups do not represent Islam but rather represent a certain
current that has separatist tendencies even in Islamic countries. France has
already monitored security reports of the spread of these groups in urban areas
in the neighborhoods of Paris, Rhone-Alpes, Côte d'Azur and Ile-de-France, and
these groups also imposed their control over the mosques of Marseille, which
became a stronghold of militant movements.
Intelligence reports also revealed the existence of
financial links between the members of these groups and foreign parties, especially
Qatar and Turkey, in addition to the Kuwaiti Social Reform Society of the
Brotherhood, which was founded in June 1963 and was banned by Saudi Arabia in
2018.
Former director of the French Intelligence Agency, Yves
Bonnet, told Depeche du Midi in 2012 that "combating political Islam
requires closing the sources of foreign funding."
Intelligence reports also revealed that these groups receive
funding from the Qatar Charity Fund and other Qatari sponsors. The Qatar
Charitable Foundation was established in 1991, and its board of directors was
chaired by Abdullah Muhammad al-Dabbagh, who was forced to resign under heavy
pressure from the US administration on Doha, given that it financially
supported al-Qaeda, according to information provided by Moroccan Mohamed
Louise, a former member of the terrorist Brotherhood.
Most important mosques expected to be inspected
It is expected that the inspection campaign launched by the
French interior minister will include most mosques belonging to groups funded
from abroad, as he has real information indicating the existence of violations
in them. Among the most prominent mosques funded by Qatar:
Dassault Mosque: It is located in Argenteuil and
belongs to the Union of French Muslims. It has been proven that it received large
donations, amounting to €2 million.
Yutz Mosque in Moselle: The Reims Mosque and the
Mosque Association works on its management, which receives funding from the
Brotherhood in Qatar, whose management has extensive relations with the
Brotherhood leaders in a number of Arab countries, including Tunisia. The
mosque presents the books of Sayyid Qutb and Brotherhood leaders such as
al-Qaradawi and others.
Villeneuve Dask Mosque: It receives funding directly
from the Qatar Charity.
Preemptive campaign
The campaign initiated by the French interior minister
represents a proactive implementation of the law promoting the values of the
republic, which is expected to be discussed in the French parliament before the
end of 2020 and which the government used to call the separatism law of radical
groups. The campaign aims not only to monitor mosques, but also to monitor the
discourse they present, and whether or not they incite hatred or violence and
are consistent with the principles of the French Republic.
The campaign also includes the discourse occurring on social
networking sites on the pages of the imams and those in charge of these
mosques, whether written or video lessons, and punitive measures will be taken
against them.
Axes of the new law
It is expected that the new draft law will focus on 4 main
axes, including recalling the great principles of French secularism, human
rights (such as equality between men and women), education, and what is related
to combating informal schools and pushing Muslims in France to abide by the
1905 law on secularism.
Interior Minister Darmanin made it clear a few months ago in
the Senate that his Arabic name is Musa, that his grandfather was a Muslim
immigrant, and that he was assured of announcing the content of the bill, stressing
that the new legislation aims to fight "France's enemies,
terrorists," and that there is no contradiction between being a Muslim and
a French citizen, but that political Islamism is a fatal enemy for
republicanism.
