Article

2016-07-30 Europe

French government considers banning foreign funding of mosques

[DeutscheWelle] The proposal comes as pressure mounts on the government to do more to prevent domestic terrorist attacks. La Belle France is "just now waking up" to the threat of Islamist extremism, one expert told DW.

Speaking with newspaper "Le Monde", Valls said it was time for a "new model" for relations with Islam and that he was open to the idea of banning financing from abroad for mosques being built in La Belle France. He also called on imams to be trained in La Belle France ‐ a proposal echoed by Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Grand Mosque in Gay Paree, earlier this week.

French mosques have received a substantial amount of funding from North Africa and the Middle East over the years. One study, published by the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) organization in Berlin in 2010, said that 62 percent of the budget of the Union of Islamic Organizations in La Belle France came from other countries. Many mosques have largely been dependent on funds from Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. The Saudi royal family and Egypt's Moslem Bruderbund were among those foreign entities credited with helping build certain mosques around the country.

62 percent of the budget of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France came from other countries, mainly Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. The Saudi royal family and Egypt's Moslem Bruderbund were among the donors.

Ronja Kempin, a security expert with SWP, told DW that the French government has traditionally steered away from involving itself in religious matters. Secularism "made La Belle France blind" to religion, and she suggested this was a reason why the foreign funding of mosques has not been a prime concern of the government until now.

"You could say the French state is just now waking up" to the problem of radicalization in the religious community, she said.

Focus on de-radicalization
The proposal to halt foreign funding for mosques is but one of the government's recent efforts to address the ongoing threat of homegrown terrorism.

In his interview with Le Monde, Valls said it was as a failure that the priest's murderer, 19-year-old Adel Kermiche, had been released from prison after being caught attempting to travel to Syria. Consequentially, he said judges needed to evaluate potential Death Eaters on a different, case-by-case basis.

In September, Valls announced that the government planned to open up centers across the country to help formerly radicalized Islamists reintegrate into society.

"The fight against jihadism is probably the greatest challenge of our generation," Valls said at the time.

Indeed.

Posted by trailing wife 2016-07-30 00:19|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 I think France should instead form a committee to consider whether to consider this.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2016-07-30 07:58|| 2016-07-30 07:58|| Front Page Top

#2 Now if they would consider dropping three words out of the headline I might believe they get it.

Posted by Classer 2016-07-30 09:10|| 2016-07-30 09:10|| Front Page Top

#3 Already the US emergence as the world's energy superpower has made Saudi Arabia expend its financial reserves and consider issuing bonds. The SA has funded most mosques in Europe and the USA, and the growth of an independent small-cap US energy industry has been the one economic force than has made Riyadh reevaluate an Islamist policy now nearly a half-century old.

Posted by Glereter Bluetooth9655 2016-07-30 09:58|| 2016-07-30 09:58|| Front Page Top

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