Iron Fist Quarrel Between France And Algeria Over Imams’ Issue

An iron fist quarrel between the Algerian authorities and their French counterparts is ongoing, and the reason is Paris’s efforts to dominate the Islamic religion and its institutions, and its attempts to reformulate it in its various components, in a way that serves French vested interests, despite the fact that this contradicts the provisions of the French 1905 law, which emphasizes the separation of religion from the state.

The French daily “Liberation” quoted a source related to this case, as saying that “Algeria has informed whom it may concern that it will not stop sending imams or religious preachers to France,” while a challenge appeared to the French directives aimed at “besieging” the Grand Mosque in Paris, through the measures it intends to take, In order to facilitate control of it later, despite the fact that it is considered a pure Algerian religious institution since the 1920s.

Algeria pays the wages of about 120 imams who perform their duties in mosques on French soil, the newspaper says, which opens the way for it to interfere in the decision-making of the Islamic religion in this country, based on the statement made by the Algerian ambassador to Paris, Mohamed Antar Daoud, during his visit to the Paris Mosque, last Thursday, during which he said that “the Grand Mosque of Paris is an Algerian religious institution first, and it will not be otherwise, and this is the most important”.

The statement of the Algerian ambassador regarding the Great Mosque of Paris, was understood by the French circles concerned with this file, as a message or a warning to the government of John Castex, against extending its control over this Muslim religious institution on French soil, which for nearly a century has been an Algerian property, whether it comes to thinking about limiting Algeria’s influence over it or with the help of its bitter neighbor, Morocco, in getting close to it.

Paris intends, through what it considers the “reforms” it launched within the framework of what the French President, Emmanuel Macron called “Islamic isolationism,” to prevent foreign imams from preaching in France, on the pretext of avoiding foreign influences on Islam in France, which is what Macron put as a priority, as stated in his speech in Mulhouse on February 18th, when he announced the end of the system of loaned imams, thus targeting the countries that send imams to France, especially Algeria, in addition to Turkey and Morocco.

One of the signs of this iron fist quarrel is the postponement of the meeting that was scheduled to be held yesterday at the French Ministry of the Interior, to discuss the “Imams Charter” prepared by the Castex Government, which means that the “National Council of Imams” will not see the light before the next January 21, according to what was mentioned by the French newspaper.

In this regard, “Liberation” revealed the great difficulties that the French government faces in drawing up the so-called “National Charter for Imams”. “Discussions are still continuing, but they are bitter, and the project is facing the inevitability of reformulation”, due to the opposition it met on the part of some actors at the level of the French Council of the Islamic Religion.