France
Muslim groups concerned about parliamentary debate upon secularism
12.04.2013 Le Figaro The representatives of eight large Muslim groups in France have expressed their concerns about the announcement of a new law against religious symbols, specifically the Muslim veil, during a meeting with France’s Secretary of Interior and Religion, Manuel Valls. Muslim organisations are worried about the renewal of stigmatization of France’s Muslim communities…
Racist graffiti daubed on mosque
14.04.2013 Le Figaro Racist graffiti was discovered on the walls of a mosque in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne. The attack follows two anti-Muslim incidents in February that occurred in the same Department as this week’s attack. Last year alone, attacks against Muslims are reported to have increased 28 fold in France.
“The problem with Islam is not the religion but its visibility”
Zaman France 03.04.2013 Marie Le Pen, the President of the French far-right party Front National (FN), expressed in an interview with Zaman France her discontent with Islam and France’s Muslim community. Contrary to accusations of being islamophobic, Le Pen considers her party to be a defender of secularism and France’s Christian traditions. She argues that…
Feminist activists burn Salafi flag
Le Figaro 03.04.2013 Three feminists of the Ukrain-based Femen movement have burnt the Salafi flag in front of the Great Mosque of Paris. The women, of whom two were white and one of Tunisian origin, burnt the flag as an expression of solidarity with a Tunisian feminist who had previously decried human rights abuses against…
Annual French Muslim event adjusts its speaker list
28.03.2013 Union of French Islamic Organisation Following a controversy, this year’s conference by the Union of French Islamic Organisations in Bourget (Seine St-Denis) refrained from inviting the Egyptian celebrity preacher Yousself al-Qaradawi who is closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The appeasement politics played by the organizers follows last year’s French Presidential election campaign during…