03 April, 2022
Darmanin’s Ramadan greeting drew ire from Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has come under fire for a tweet in which he conveyed Ramadan greetings to France’s Muslim minority.
“I wish all Muslims in our country a happy Ramadan,” Darmanin said on Friday, the eve of the Muslim holy month.
Twitter users accused the minister of the country which prides itself on secularism of hypocrisy.
Several asked why Darmanin had not tweeted greetings for the Catholic holiday of Lent, which began on 2 March.
The minister also received criticism from some Muslims, who pointed out that he last year pushed through an “anti-separatism” bill that activists say targets France’s Muslim community.
As part of the bill, several mosques were shut down for preaching “unacceptable” content.
“Coming from a minister who has fervently taken part in the criminalisation, repression, and/or dissolution of a number of Muslim figures and structures… it’s damn cheeky,” journalist and activist Siham Assbague said in reply to Darmanin’s tweet.
Some Twitter users accused Darmanin of trying to appease French Muslims ahead of the country’s elections.
The latest opinion polls showed France’s centrist leader Emmanuel Macron is losing ground to Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate who has expressed Islamophobic views.
Darmanin responded to the backlash for his tweet on Saturday.
“Yesterday I wished a happy Ramadan to our Muslim compatriots, and I’m proud of that,” he said on Facebook.
“Since then, many comments, a bit racist, evoking that I did not wish a happy birthday to Christians or Jews.”
He produced a list of links to congratulatory messages he had shared for Christian and Jewish holidays.
Darmanin – whose middle name is Moussa – is of Algerian, Armenian, and Maltese descent.
He announced last month that he will be outlawing two leading pro-Palestine NGOs, accusing them of “fuelling hatred”.
Suggested reading for living in the image of the Loving and the Most Merciful God by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times:
Thirty Plus Quotes from the Poet of Love
Two Hundred Verses about Compassionate Living in the Quran
A Message of Compassion and Love from the Holy Bible
True Fasting: A Message of Compassion and Love from the Old Testament
Abou Ben Adhem, A Compassionate Man
‘Love Hormone,’ How it works in Hospitality?
‘Love Hormone’ Oxytocin May Enhance Feelings Of Spirituality
I am a Jew, a Catholic, a Christian and a Muslim; I am Zia H Shah
Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, France, Islamophobia