-President says Paris needs to bring people together instead of stamping
Islam in a certain manner to create ‘disharmony & bias’
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi has urged France to desist from entrenching “discriminatory attitudes” against Muslims into laws aimed at fighting so-called extremism. Paris needs to bring people together instead of stamping Islam in a certain manner to create “disharmony and bias,” said President Alvi.
President Alvi, who spoke at an international conference on religious freedom and minorities’ rights, was referring to a controversial bill introduced by French President Emmanuel Macron in October to fight so-called “Islamist separatism”.
“Islam in France must be freed from foreign influence,” Macron had said, promising improved oversight of the financing of mosques. On Tuesday, the French National Assembly approved the bill with a vote of 347-151, garnering support from lawmakers in Macron’s ranks as well as other centrist parties. It now heads to the Senate.
Hosted by the Presidency, the event was attended by Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, Parliamentary Secretary Shunila Ruth, and European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara. Besides, Member of the US Democratic Central State Committee (DSCC) Ayesha Khan and Implementation of Minority Rights Forum chairman Samuel Pyara also addressed the moot attended by representatives of the minority communities and international organisations, religious scholars, and bishops. Alvi recalled that Pakistan communicated to the West that the blasphemy against Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in the name of freedom of expression is considered an insult to the entire Muslim community. The bill is being criticised because it targets the Muslim community and imposes restrictions on almost every aspect of their lives.
It restricts the education choices of the Muslim community by preventing families from giving children home education. The bill also prohibits patients from choosing doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons and makes compulsory “secularism education” for all public officials. Alvi said that the legislation was not in line with the United Nations (UN) charter and contradicted the spirit of social harmony that Europe previously instilled in its society.
Let there not be a retrogressive step for situations that arise out of animosity and for situations that are carried forward by the people who do not know about the real Islam, he said. Alvi said that the damage might not be evident at present but would ultimately end up in a terrible scenario of hatred and hostility. To label the entire religion in a different manner and to start taking precautions against the entire community sparks the fact that if not now, it will have very bad repercussions in the next 10 years, he said.
Moreover, During a high-profile speech on secularism and Islam last October, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “Islam is a religion which is experiencing a crisis today, all over the world”, and there was a need to “free Islam in France from foreign influences”. Two months later, the French government unveiled draft legislation in order to combat what it terms “Islamist separatism” and an ideology it describes as “the enemy of the Republic”.
Critics say the so-called “separatism law” is discriminatory and targets France’s 5.7 million-strong Muslim community, the largest in Europe. Its detractors include the 100 imams, 50 teachers in Islamic sciences and 50 presidents of associations in France who signed an open letter against the “unacceptable” charter on February 10. This month, French MPs staged two weeks of heated debates in the National Assembly, discussing some 1,700 proposed amendments to the bill’s 51 articles. Tensions over the legislation were highlighted by the unusually large number of amendments, which came from parties across France’s political spectrum.
