French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to intensify the campaign against what he describes as Islamic extremism in his country, and announced the dissolution of an Islamic association and the closure of a mosque near Paris, in response to the killing of a French professor who displayed insulting pictures of the Prophet, peace be upon him, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked Macron and those he described as disturbed by Islam .
Macron announced yesterday the dissolution of the "Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Gathering" known for its activism for the Palestinian cause, which he said was directly involved in the killing of 47-year-old teacher Samuel Patti at the hands of a Chechen refugee last Friday in the Conflans suburb of Saint Honorine, 40 km away. Kilometers northwest of Paris.
He also announced the closure of a mosque in the suburb of Bantan (northeast of Paris) on charges of inciting against the teacher Patty, and he will officially announce the dissolution of the association and the closure of the mosque today.
The French authorities said that the imam of the mosque had shared a video that included a denunciation of the professor’s share on freedom of expression, but the imam said that he did not publish the video in support of the complaint related to the display of offensive cartoons of the Holy Prophet, but rather for his concern about referring to Muslim students in the classroom that raises fear of a wave of discrimination against Muslims .
According to a notification suspended by the authorities, the mosque will be closed from today for a period of 6 months, and anyone who violates the closure decision faces a prison sentence.
In response to the French steps, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) asserted that the "Sheikh Yassin Gathering" based in France does not have any organizational relationship with it or its head, Abdel Hakim Al-Saffouri.
In a statement yesterday, Tuesday, the movement denounced media attempts that seek to throw its name into an internal battle in which it is not a party, stressing that its battle is only against the Israeli occupation for freedom and independence.
Macron with his Interior Minister Darmanan (Reuters)
Mass campaign
In addition to the decisions to dissolve the association and close the mosque, Macron announced similar decisions that will be issued in the coming days and weeks against Islamic associations and individuals accused of extremism.
"The measures we have taken in recent days will intensify dozens of concrete measures that we have taken against associations. Likewise, with regard to individuals who carry out an extremist Islamic project, that is, the ideology of destroying the republic," he said in a speech yesterday in the northern Paris suburb of Bobigny.
In France, talk is about targeting 51 Islamic societies as part of the campaign that was launched after the teacher’s killing.
While more vigils were organized condemning the death of the teacher, French Prime Minister Jean Castex pledged yesterday to tighten the screws on all associations that prove their complicity with "Islamic extremism", while Interior Minister Gerald Darmanan pledged to wage war on those he described as enemies of the republic.
The investigations found that the teacher fought a Moscow-born Chechen refugee named Abdullah Anzurov (18 years). The French police have arrested 16 people in connection with the case, and 6, including members of the attacker's family, have been released, while 7 of those arrested will appear before the appointed investigating judge. Issues of terrorism.
In a related development, the French police arrested, on Monday evening, in the city of Toulouse 3 women while they affixed insulting cartoons of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the city streets, confirming their "right to blasphemy," as they put it.
Erdogan said that the sad reality of Muslims encourages those who describe them as enemies of Islam to try to harm them (Anadolu Agency)
Accountability of Islam
In reactions to events in France, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan considered yesterday, Tuesday, that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron seeks to hold Islam and Muslims accountable, denouncing those he called disturbed by the rise of Islam.
During a meeting organized by the Presidency of Turkish Religious Affairs for ministers and religious officials in the member and observer countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Erdogan said, "As Muslims, we should listen to each other more and exchange ideas in this painful and challenging period."
He considered that "nationalist and sectarian fanaticism and terrorism are seditions that gnaw the Islamic world from within," and that Muslims face many complex problems, such as hunger, ignorance, injustice and conflicts, especially in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Libya.
The Turkish president said that "the sad reality of Muslims encourages the imperialists and the enemies of Islam to try to undermine them," as Western politicians use anti-Islam rhetoric to cover up their failures, he said.
He also pointed out that "those who are disturbed by the rise of Islam attack our religion by citing the crises that they were the cause of."
Erdogan directed his criticism at Macron, considering that the goal of the latter in launching the "French Islam" initiative is to hold Islam and Muslims accountable.
The Turkish president affirmed that about a thousand Muslims are victims of terrorism and violence in the world every day, while Islam states that “a Muslim is from the peace of Muslims through his tongue and his hand,” as in the noble hadith.
For his part, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb, condemned the killing of the French teacher yesterday, describing it as a "vicious terrorist act."
On the other hand, Al-Tayyib denounced in a video-delivered speech to Christian, Jewish and Buddhist clerics in the Italian capital, Rome, of insulting religions under the slogan of freedom of expression.
In this context, he said, "I affirm that insulting religions and undermining their sacred symbols under the slogan of freedom of expression is an ideological duplication and an explicit call for hatred."