Escalade against the Brotherhood: New measures taken by France to combat the currents of political Islam
In its confrontation with political Islam on its territory, extremism and hate speech, France has used secret evidence and interactive maps of Brotherhood and political Islam hotspots.
“The security forces have stepped up surveillance and facilitated legal obstacles to the closure of mosques where imams call for hatred, with powers to close places of worship for up to six months if they are suspected of being used to incite violence, justify terrorism, and so-called armed jihad, while allowing those in places of worship to appeal to administrative courts.” It closed more than 25 mosques over the past year because of their promotion of radical Islam and the spread of hatred, and disbanded and banned many religious associations after suspicions of extremism and funding from external sources were confirmed, the German News Agency reported.
A recent report submitted to the French Senate described the Muslim Brotherhood as a “dangerous organization” whose leaders should be barred from entering French territory, and proposed a systematic campaign to combat the group’s ideology while restricting its activities.
The French government is preparing to present a draft reform to parliament soon on immigration and asylum and the process of deporting foreigners who have committed terrorist or criminal acts, the most prominent of which are militants and activists in the Muslim Brotherhood.
The French Ministry of Economy and Finance has launched a broad investigation into the sources of funding for religious and intellectual associations and mosques advocating a “separatist Islam”, particularly within institutions linked to the Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood in France controls more than 150 mosques, equivalent to about 12% of the officially approved mosques, in addition to more than 600 religious associations affiliated with them.
