Good: The French government on Saturday triggered efforts to reshape Islam in France and get rid of it from extremism, introducing a new body made from Clergy Andlaymen – and women – to help lead the largest Muslim community in Western Europe.
With bloody France on the past Islamic extremist attacks in recent years, little disagree that radicalization is a danger.
But the critics also saw efforts as a political tactic to attract voters to the President of the President of Emmanuel Macron ahead of the April presidential election.
The new body, called the Islamic Forum in France, is being introduced on Saturday by the French Ministry of Home Affairs.
Supporters said it would keep the country safe and free from foreign influences, and ensure that Muslim practices in France adhere to the value of state secularism in public life.
Critics, including many Muslims who consider religion as part of their French identity, said the latest government initiatives are another step in institutionalized discrimination.
The new body will include priests, influential figures from the community, leading intellectuals and business leaders.
All chosen by the government, and women will redeem at least a quarter of its members, according to reports.
This replaces the French Council of Muslim Faith, a group founded in 2003.
“We want to launch a revolution by ending (foreign influence) in Islam,” Darmanin said in a recent interview with Le Parisien every day.
In its project, Macron imagined steps such as the training of priests in France instead of bringing them in from Turkey, Morocco or Algeria – a plan governed by the Muslim community.
The Makron government seeks to give Islamic French makeover
