France ceases employment of imams from outside France

The French government is taking measures to prevent the entry of imams trained in Salafi and Wahhabi centers by applying new regulations.

More details on this development in the following report.

Report:

From the beginning of 2024, the employment of Congregation and Friday imams trained abroad and appointed by foreign countries will be prohibited in French mosques and Islamic centers, DW reported on December 30.

The report states that the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Dermann, has announced the implication of strict regulations regarding the employment of Congregation and Friday imams in French mosques in order to prevent what is described as ‘Islamic extremism’ and the creation of ‘divisions and schisms’ among Muslims and the French people.

Based on the Minister’s statement, appointment of imams from outside France will be prohibited, and clerics, missionaries, and Congregation and Friday imams for Islamic centers and mosques throughout France will be trained in centers under the supervision of the government and universities.

According to the French Interior Minister, imams who have been sent to France for religious activities from countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, must assume a “new status” from April 1, 2024, which means that the source of their income must come from inside, not outside France.

The main goal of the authors of these strict regulations is evidently for imams working in France no longer to be employees of foreign countries and to be not trained in Salafi and Wahhabi centers.

Until now, most of the imams and missionaries of French mosques were sent to France from North African countries at the expense of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Turkey. These imams were educated in radical Sunni schools in North Africa, especially in Algeria, Libya, and Egypt, and their salaries were also deposited into their accounts by the countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

In the middle of December 2023, the German government also made an agreement with the Turkish government to halt the sending of imams from Turkey to Germany.

The growth of Salafi and Wahhabi Islam in the mosques of France and Western European countries is one of the concerns of the member states of the European Union. In an attempt to prevent the growth of this extreme view of Islam, European policy makers often impose strictures and restrictions on the general population of Muslims. In response to this and unaware of the true nature of the extremist Islamic movements, young people tend to be increasingly drawn to Islamic extremism in the suburbs of big cities.