France’s Goals Behind Understanding Islamic Phenomenon
How do French Muslims, especially those of Algerian origin, view the steps taken by the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Islam in this country, the most recent of which was the assignment of the former ambassador to Algeria, François Gouyette, to prepare a detailed report on “Political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood Movement” and their influence on the French society.
The new decision is considered an episode in a series that began years ago with the various presidents who succeeded one another at the Elysee Palace, which indicates that this trend goes beyond the presidents and that its goal is the attempt of the deep state in this country to take control of the Muslims’ institutions and then try to tame the entire community. This is an approach that falls within the framework of the Macron administration’s fight against what it calls “Islamic separatism.”
This decision comes in the context of previous decisions to try to tame Islam and Muslims in France, according to the MP for the Algerian diaspora in France, Saad Laanani, who added that “it cannot be considered in any way a new addition to the Muslim community in France, neither in form nor in terms of content. Especially considering the assignment of the former ambassador to Algeria, who contributed to the destruction of several Arab countries and played a dangerous role in trying to infiltrate Algerian public opinion through his private life (he is married to an Algerian woman), a fact that does not bode well.”
MP Laanani explained to Echorouk that “choosing the one who said; “coffee and cigarette is better than the Sultan in his house” and who sang Al-Kawi by Omar Ezzahi, is a wink at the Algerian community in particular”.
Regarding the new project that was revealed by the French Interior Minister, Gérald Moussa Darmanin, amid an organized campaign launched by the government of Gabriel Attal, including a campaign of illegal deportation, targeting many imams, because of their mosque activity guaranteed under French law, the MP Laanani said; “all previous decisions issued by the French authorities regarding the Muslim community residing on its territory were intended, by a hidden or declared party, to reduce the role of the Algerian community, in particular by trimming its nails, and secondly, to destabilize the realistic balances between the various Muslim communities, an approach that is prevalent not only in France but also in Europe, driven by the invasion of the extreme right, which has come to power in more than one country of the old continent”.
“Among the most notable achievements of the prevailing trend in Europe and in France, in particular, is the emergence of extremist media gangs that had never had any media exposure in the past, and which made insulting Islam and Muslims a priority and making that a normal matter, and among them was the Algerian community, which turned into a target for these attacks, as happened with the desecration of the Algerian consulate in Nantes”, MP Saad Laanani said, recalling the incident of the expulsion of the imam of the Grand Mosque of Empalot in Toulouse, Mohamed Tataiat, nearly two weeks ago, “by a political decision and not a judicial decision. He is a moderate figure who defends Algeria and the Algerians, and he has lived in France for forty years, his children and wife are still living in Toulouse.”
There is another interpretation of the step taken by the French authorities, which is that Paris is looking for more control over the religious institutions of the Muslim community in France by trying to understand the phenomenon, after reaching the conviction that previous attempts did not lead to achieving the desired goals.
This trend is explained by the university professor and association activist, Madjid R., residing in France, “as a decision by the French government to prepare the ground to clean the arena of some names that it has been unable to domesticate, in addition to searching for new ways and methods in managing Muslims’ religious institutions in France, for fear they will fall under the control of some well-known nationalities such as Turkish and Moroccan.”
