France: Imam Hassan Iquioussen defends his case before administrative justice
The Paris administrative court examined this Monday morning an appeal for “excess of power” against the expulsion order issued by the Ministry of the Interior in July 2022 against Hassan Iquioussen.
This imam from the north of France, registered as S, who was born and spent his entire life in France, was accused of “
comments inciting hatred and discrimination and carrying a contrary vision of Islam to the values of the Republic
”, which he contests.
He was deported to Morocco in January 2023, from Belgium where he had fled.
Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen with his French lawyer, Me Lucie Simon, after a hearing before the Mons Court of Appeal, in November 2022. AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
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Hearing report,
Laura Martel
The Interior Ministry was not represented.
But in the conclusions read by the public rapporteur, the expulsion is justified by " systematic
", "
without nuance
" and "
repeated
" speeches
, likely to "
provoke hatred, discrimination or violence
" against Jews and women.
The imam is also criticized for recurring comments about the “
victimization
” of Muslims, which would lead to “
a feeling of fear, hatred or revolt towards non-Muslims
”.
An argument that makes Me Simon jump: “
The denunciation of Islamophobia is not an incitement in itself
,” denounces the imam's lawyer.
Concerning women, “
he is conservative, it is sadly banal.
Since when has religion been a vector of progressive morals?
“, she sweeps away.
On this point, the imam has come a long way, points out his lawyer, as on his anti-Semitic remarks for which he apologized, but above all, which go back around ten years, she says.
This is also the heart of his argument: to justify expulsion, the threat to public order must be serious, but also current.
However, “
a man's thinking evolves
”, insists the lawyer, before launching: “
Who said 'homosexual marriage and adoption by homosexuals', must we accept everything under the pretext that society is evolving
?
Mr. Iquioussen or Mr. Darmanin?
Mr. Darmanin, in 2012. He apologized for it, and that counts.
It must also count for Mr. Iquioussen
,” she concludes.
The decision will be made on March 11.
What we are told is that he represents a threat to public order, because of his speech conveyed in his videos, in his conferences.
But at that point, why were his videos never taken down?
Why was Hassan Iquioussen never asked to stop his conferences?
00:59
Me Lucie Simon, lawyer for Hassan Iquioussen
Laura Martel
Also read: Imam Hassan Iquioussen expelled to Morocco by Belgium
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