"Separatism": in Egypt, Al-Azhar describes Macron's words as "racist"
(illustration) Prayer at the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo on August 28, 2020. Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP
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The highest moral authority in Sunni Islam, the institution of Al-Azhar, condemned French President Emmanuel Macron's speech on "Islamist separatism" and in particular described it as "racist".
An extremely rare reaction to a foreign head of state and in particular a French head of state from the Egyptian Mosque-University.
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With our correspondent in Cairo,
Alexandre Buccianti
It is the Center for Islamic Studies of Al-Azhar which attacked the speech of the French president, calling it "
racist
", likely to "
inflame the feelings of two billion Muslims
" and "
sabotage
»All efforts to promote tolerance.
The expressions "
Islamist separatism
" and "
Islamist terrorism
" were notably rejected by Al-Azhar.
The word "
Islamist
" does not exist in Arabic and gives, in the translation, "
separatism and Islamic terrorism
".
But the sentence that shocked Al-Azhar as well as other Islamic institutions is the one where Emmanuel Macron says that "
Islam is a religion which is in crisis today all over the world
".
Enough to make the French president “
the declared enemy of Islam
” on social networks, not only from Islamist circles but also from conservatives.
The Center also calls for "to
stop attacks against religions
" so as not to consolidate "
hate speech
".
Bill presented in France on December 9
Emmanuel Macron presented this Friday, October 3 his
action plan against "
Islamist separatism
"
and his project of "
counter-society
" at work according to him in France where secularism is a cardinal value and where Islam is the second religion.
“
Islamist separatism
” in France, noted the French president, leads to the “
deschooling of children
” and to the “
development of
communalist
sports and cultural practices
”, to “
indoctrination, [to] the negation of our principles such as 'equality between men and women
'.
This speech, expected and repeatedly postponed, took place in a sensitive context in France, after the chopper attack carried out a week earlier in Paris by a young Pakistani and during the trial of the attack on the satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo,
including the editorial staff was decimated in 2015 by a jihadist attack.
The bill against separatism must be presented on December 9, before being debated in 2021 in Parliament.
►
To read also: Esther Benbassa: "The word" separatism "is embarrassing"
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