Macron Wants ‘Reformed Islam’ In France

By Web Desk — As part of its efforts to ‘reshape’ Islam in France and rid it of ‘extremism’, the French government on Saturday introduced a new council made up of clergy, laymen, and women to help lead the largest Muslim community in western Europe.

Having already witnessed past Islamic extremist attacks in France, having hundreds of French citizens who fought with jihadists in Syria in past years, and having thousands of French troops fighting extremists in Africa, few would disagree that radicalization is a danger. However, critics also see the move as a way to lure right-wing voters to President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party ahead of the April election.

The new body, called the Forum of Islam in France, will be unveiled Saturday by the French Interior Ministry. In the eyes of supporters, it keeps France and its five million Muslims safe and free from foreign influence, so that Muslim practices in France adhere to the country’s cherished value of secularism in public life.

According to critics, including some Muslims who consider Islam an integral part of their French identity, the government’s latest policy represents yet another step in an institutionalized discrimination process that holds the entire community responsible for violent attacks committed by a few and creates another barrier in their public lives.

Members of the new body will include imams, influential figures from civil society, and business leaders. According to French media reports, at least a quarter of its members will be women, as all of its members have been handpicked by the government.

In 2003, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, then interior minister, set up a group called the French Council of Muslim Faith. The Council acted as a conduit between the government and religious leaders. Macron’s government is dissolving it this month because, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, the organization was no longer fulfilling its role in the community and society. The organization was reeling from attacks in recent years that killed hundreds of people.