During a fast-breaking meal, the President Emmanuel Macron called on Muslim leaders to do their bit in the fight against preachers of hate and extremism. Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) arrive at a dinner to break the Ramadan fast on the evening of June 20.

Emmanuel Macron says he wants to work together with French Muslims to “to fight the spreading fanaticism” of the Islamic State group’s ideology, and to counter those who want to turn mosques into “places that preach hatred and violence”. The president was speaking on Tuesday evening to members of the French Council of the Muslim Faith CFCM) who had invited him to break the Ramadan fast with him.

He spoke about how “awful attacks” had been an ordeal for the people of France and of the “immense” role Muslims had to play in the required “security, cultural and moral” response to them. The first battle is against extremism. “On theological and religious terrain it is up to you to fight the appropriation of your religion’s history, the negation of 15 centuries of interpretation work done by your scholars,” Macron insisted. “The battle of thought and faith must be fought on the ground, especially among the youth who are reluctant to enter your mosques.”

Another target, the president said, was those within Islam who foment “segregation” and isolationism, and those who want “to withdraw from the laws of the Republic”. “Nobody should say your faith is not compatible with the Republic,” Macron said, implying it was up to Muslim leaders to prove this.

He went on to repeat a point he made when he was a presidential candidate: that it was essential that imams be trained in France and in a way that corresponds to the values of the Republic.  “Universities are ready to work in this direction and already have the support of the state,” he pledged. In all of these battles “for France” and the “serenity of the Muslim faithful”, the state will stand side-by-side with the CFCM, said Macron.

Source: La Croix International