The French authorities say they will close the Muslim publishing house “Nawa Editions” because it has distributed several books legitimising jihad.

The right-wing Interior Minsiter Gerald Darmanin announced the decision in a tweet, saying: “I have initiated the procedure for the dissolution of the Islamist publishing house ‘Nawa,’ in particular because of the distribution of several works legitimising jihad. A measure to freeze assets targeting the association and its leaders has also been taken.”

Government sources say the publisher, which is based in Ariège in southwestern France, has an editorial line which is “clearly anti-universalist and in direct contestation of Western values.”

On its website, Nawa publishing house describes itself as an organisation that aims to “promote human and political sciences born of Islamic heritage” and “contribute to the revitalisation of these disciplines by studying the Western world and sciences, modern political ideology and doctrines.”

It is not clear which books the government has identified as “legitimising jihad” and the website of Nawa Editions is not functioning at the moment. However, the books available for sale on its Facebook page seem to be the usual books one would expect to find in an Islamic bookstore on the Quran, hadith and Islamic history, as well as prominent Islamic political figures such as Sayyid Qutb.

Nawa Editions said the accusations are without foundation and the decision was purely political…Over the last year the French authorities have closed down the nation’s biggest Islamic charity and its main anti-Islamophobia organisation for alleged extremism. They have also targeted mosques and imams.

Source: The Independent