Muslim groups were given two weeks to sign on to a “Republican values charter” by French President Macron after a series of terror attacks, but six weeks later the groups have yet to agree on and finalise a signed document.
The charter called on Muslim groups to rejected political Islam and reject anti-Semitism, homophobia and other issues frequently observed among those who subscribe to ultra-conservative and radical ideologies of Islam.
The charter refers to political Islam as “the political and/or ideological currents commonly referred to as Wahhabism; Salafism; the doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood; and more generally any local movement, transnational or international that aims to use Islam to establish a political doctrine,” Le Journal du Dimanche reports.
Three Muslim groups rejected this definition of political Islam, however. One of these, Musulmans de France, is said to have close ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood.
Macron Gives Muslim Council Two Weeks to Agree to ‘Republican Values Charter’ https://t.co/rizEykLJXk
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 20, 2020
Another draft of the charter was created by the Turkish-linked Millî Görüş, one of the largest Islamic groups in Europe, which operates in several countries within the European Union.
The first draft was also leaked to the French media and led Franco-Egyptian Muslim activist Marwan Muhammad to call on Muslim groups to reject the charter saying on Twitter, “I invite all mosques, associations and imams to whom there is still a minimum of dignity not to sign this charter, which is nothing less than an act of alienation.”
Mr Muhammed became the executive director of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) in 2016. Following the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty by a radical Islamist Chechen refugee in October, Presiden Macron ordered the dissolution of the CCIF along with several other Islamist-linked groups.
The CCIF executive director has also been accused of having ties to Islamists himself, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
Other issues have caused conflict with the groups including a debate over apostasy or individuals leaving Islam, which according to the religion is a crime, with some Muslim-majority states such as Iran making leaving Islam punishable by death.
Macron Govt Proposes Dissolving Major Islamist Associations After Teacher Beheading https://t.co/N90nY0RouO
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 20, 2020
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