French Senate Set To Oversee Imams’ Training in Algerian Institutes

A commission made up of several members of the French Senate are expected in Algeria soon for an official visit during which they will see for themselves the overall composition of Algerian imams, now undergoing sustained training in Algiers and Constantine institutes, before their dispatching to France for religious assignments there as part of an accord linking the two countries.

The initiative came during a hearing of the Algerian Ambassador in Paris, His Excellency, Amar Boudjemaâ, at the French Senate devoted to  the financing and organization of Islam in France, whereby the Algerian senior diplomat  underlined at the end of the “question and answer session” that the Algerian authorities extended a formal invitation to the relevant French parliamentary commission to visit Algeria shortly and meet with religious officials, pointing out that the French Commission members will secure all the appropriate answers to their queries on this outstanding file.

Mr Boudjemaâ said in this regard that “the doors of our institutions for the proper training of imams remain wide open.”

In a reaction, a French Senator said: “We are very interested in this proposal, and we will look into the possibility to respond to this proposal any time soon.”

The Algerian Ambassador was crystal-clear about the proficiency of the Algerian imams due to be sent on assignment in France to convey the genuine image of a tolerant and humanistic Islam there, stressing that the latter have university degrees and even some of them possess a post-graduate diploma in addition to being fluent in the French language.