Eiffel Tower: The most recognized landmark of France. For the Muslim Times’ collection about Secularism
How France Plans To Promote Dialogue With Its Growing Muslim Community
Source: Huffington Post
| By SYLVIE CORBETPARIS (AP) — French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve proposed a plan Wednesday aimed at promoting a better dialogue with France’s Muslim community, that includes training imams at university.
The plan would promote an Islam “faithful to the values of the Republic,” Cazeneuve said, insisting on France’s tradition of secularism. The creation of a new representative body would help Muslim leaders and French authorities address issues such as security, prevention of radicalization and preventing anti-Muslims acts, he said.
This body would meet with the government twice a year, on a model inspired by the dialogue the French government has had with leaders of the Catholic church since 2002. The French government also regularly consults with Jewish community leaders via the country’s main Jewish organization, the CRIF council.
The plan has been decided together with leaders of the existing French Muslim council, the CFCM, created in 2003.
It is important for the Muslim community in France to be able to count on “trained and well-qualified people to take out of (Muslim) religion all poisons of fanaticism and fundamentalism,” the president of the CFCM and rector of Paris’ mosque, Dalil Boubakeur, said Tuesday.
The training at university would be mandatory for Muslim chaplains who work in prisons.
The plan comes amid increasing religious tension in France following the Jan. 7-9 terror attacks in Paris by Islamic extremists against a satirical weekly, a policewoman and a kosher grocery store that claimed a total of 17 victims.
Anti-Muslim acts in France in just the month after the attacks totaled the same as the entire previous year, Cazeneuve said.
Categories: Europe, France, Secularism, Separation of Church and State
Shariah and Constitution: A Personal Journey
http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2014/07/countries/united-states/shariah-and-constitution-a-personal-journey-2
The demand for state funded Muslim schools is not against any western value or constitution.
Western Natives must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. The needs and demands of the Muslim community are different from those of natives. Muslims are in West not to give up their cultural heritage. They must integrate in their new home country, learn new languages and apply for political representation — without forgetting their cultural heritage. It is important to learn Standard English, but their languages should not be neglected. They need Masajid Muslim schools, halal meat and grave yards. Muslim children not only need halal meat or Eid Holidays but they need state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers as role models during their development period also. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. This is nothing to do with a Islamic Madrassa in Pakistan. The needs and demands of Western Muslims are different from Muslims living in Pakistan. Western schools are not doing enough to tackle racism and promote race relations. Many teachers are unaware of racist attitudes amongst pupils. Schools have a responsibility not only to deal with racist incidents but also to prepare pupils for life in a multicultural and multiracial society. Children from minority groups, especially the Muslims, are exposed to the pressure of racism,multiculturalism and bullying. They suffer academically, culturally and linguistically: a high proportion of children of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin are leaving British schools with low grades or no qualification.
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
Iftikhar Ahmad; “The demand for state funded Muslim schools is not against any western value or constitution.” Wrong – It is here in the USA. There’s not a religious school of any faith that is state funded. I refer you to the ‘Establishment Clause’ of the First Amendment to the US Constitution and the concept of the “wall of separation between church and state” as phrased by Thomas Jefferson.
Are the muhammadans excluded or they exclude themselves? Why should there be special privileges for them?
If they are want to remain ‘different’ without ‘giving up their cultural heritage’ in the West, they should rather stay where that heritage prevails.Expecting to be ‘different’ while enjoying the largess of their host countries is unacceptable.