The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, formalizes in a speech the creation of a “status of the imam in France”

Gérald Darmanin annonce la création d'un “statut de l'imam de France”. (illustration) MAXPPP – Vincent Isore

This Monday, February 26, 2024, on the occasion of the French Islam Forum (FORIF), the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin announces the creation of a "status of the imam in France".

A change. Gérald Darmanin delivered a speech this Monday, February 26, on the occasion of the French Islam Forum (FORIF). During this, the Minister of the Interior announced the creation of a "status of the imam in France& quot;, reports the news channel BFMTV. This news comes a few days after the expulsion of the imam of Bagnols-sur-Cèze.

"It's a French religion like any other"

This announcement aims to combat the idea that Islam "is a religion of foreigners, for foreigners, financed by foreigners". "60% of Muslims in France were born in France and it's a French religion like any other", added the minister of the Interior.

This new status will allow better remuneration for imams and this is the hope of many of them.< /p>

"There remains a major effort to be made so that believers in France have better trained religious executives, worthily remunerated and fully integrated into French society" , explained Gérald Darmanin, and added: "strengthen the training offer in France, in its theological and secular dimension, which is not the role of the State".

Imam expelled

Gérald Darmanin's announcement is related to the news of recent days. On February 22, Mahjoub Mahjoubi, imam of Bagnols-sur-Cèze, was arrested and then expelled from French territory to his country of origin, Tunisia. Gérald Darmanin welcomed this rapid expulsion and underlined this demonstration of the immigration law. "We will not let anything pass", he concluded on X (ex-Twitter).

The imam was notably criticized for having made polemical remarks in his sermons within the Ettaouba mosque in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, in the Gard, during the month of February.

It is mentioned in the expulsion order that the respondent would have "a literal, retrograde, intolerant and violent conception of Islam, likely to encourage behavior contrary to the values ​​of the Republic, discrimination against women, withdrawal identity, tensions with the Jewish community and jihadist radicalization", after his sermons held at the Gard mosque during the month of February, indicates  The Parisian.