France
French Imams Visit Israel to Clear Image
On Islam – 11 November 2012 A group of French Muslim imams arrived in Israel on Sunday, November 11, on a controversial visit to dispel the perceptions that Muslims are harboring hatred against Jews. “Unfortunately French Muslims are seen as being anti-Semitic,” Hassan Shaljoumi, who heads a mosque in the Paris suburb of Drancy,…
French nationalists protest in Paris against radical Islam, allege Muslims won’t integrate
News Agencies – November 10, 2012 Hundreds of French nationalists demonstrated in Paris against Islamist extremism, chanting the French anthem and saying the religion has no place in the country. Three weeks ago, dozens of far-right French activists stormed an unfinished mosque to protest immigration policies that have made France home to Western Europe’s…
France sets remembrance date for Algerian war victims
News Agencies – November 8, 2012 France has set March 19 as the annual date of remembrance for victims of the 1954-62 Algerian war, in a diplomatic gesture to Algeria before a visit by President Francois Hollande next month. The Senate upper house of parliament approved the date in a vote that ended years of…
French Islamic school teaches imams
News Agencies – November 6, 2012 Deep in the wooded hills of Burgundy in central France, an unusual institute is training unusual students: aspiring French imams who hope to minister to the country’s large Muslim population. After seven intensive years of study, only 10 or so graduates each year to lead prayers or preach at…
Religious Practices of French Muslims on the Rise
Le Monde, November 5 2012 According to a survey conducted by sociologist Lagrange, the practice of young French Muslims is on the rise. Muslims between 18 and 35 years old tend to be more observants than the first or second generation of immigrant Muslims They are also more assertive of their Muslim identity. Such results…