French Council of the Muslim Faith proposes 'license to preach for Imams'

[ReptilianPeon]

Imams in France should have a permit to preach, similar to a “driving license”, so that they can promote a "tolerant and open Islam" and battle extremist propaganda, says the head of France's leading Muslim body.

Full article.


I think this is a great idea. But all countries (not just France) also need to remove all of the corrupting money from Saudi and Qatar. Fascism is spreading fast thanks to Saudi and Qatari influence and French Council of the Muslim Faith seems to have some good ideas on how to counter it.

[Anomalocaris]

And they will prevent unlicensed preaching how?

[ReptilianPeon]

And they will prevent unlicensed preaching how?

According to Mohammed Mraizika, secretary general of the Union of French Mosques (and this is noted in the article I linked to):“Preachers of hate should be expelled and the mosques [where they preach] closed; France has the powers to do this,"

But then you have the question of who is Kuffar and who isn't. Not that Ahmadis are known for their hate preaching, but they, along with others, may not be considered under the jurisdiction of French Council of the Muslim Faith, etc, because the Council, perhaps, considers them Kuffar, and, therefore, will not be subject to their Imam License. As an example, the UK Mosque Directory does not list Ahmadi Mosques, last time I checked, and this means that the largest Mosque in the UK, the largest in the whole of Europe in fact, (located in Morden) is not listed in their directory.

Ironically, the Baitul Futuh Mosque appears on the map used by the UK Mosque directory despite them not listing it as a Mosque. (Just zoom in on the Google Maps and you'll see it right by Morden South station).

[mr_j936]

If they pass the laws for muslims, muslims will demand it get removed or get applied to jews and christians as well.

Islam would be the only religion where you need a license to preach. It's both sad and funny.

[ReptilianPeon]

If they pass the laws for muslims, muslims will demand it get removed or get applied to jews and christians as well.

Islam would be the only religion where you need a license to preach. It's both sad and funny.

But doesn't one have to go to seminary school to preach the Bible? You know, to be a priest? Catholicism has a very top-down organization, and I'm sure they don't let just anyone preach.

[Anomalocaris]

If they pass the laws for muslims, muslims will demand it get removed or get applied to jews and christians as well.

Islam would be the only religion where you need a license to preach. It's both sad and funny.

But doesn't one have to go to seminary school to preach the Bible? You know, to be a priest? Catholicism has a very top-down organization, and I'm sure they don't let just anyone preach.

I doubt many of idiots who stand at street corners and shout to you about how you need saving have ever been to any school.

[TheRealJoeFish]

It's important to note that France has very different laws regarding free speech and the like compared to the US or UK. Without knowing the specifics, I do not doubt that France has the power to do this.

OP's source includes a quote by "the head of France's leading Muslim body." That troubles me, inasmuch as it suggests that the motivation is not solely a state-sanctioned desire to remove "hatred and incitement" and such but also a desire by some muslims to control which aspects of islam are propounded in France.

[ReptilianPeon]

But doesn't one have to go to seminary school to preach the Bible? You know, to be a priest? Catholicism has a very top-down organization, and I'm sure they don't let just anyone preach.

I doubt many of idiots who stand at street corners and shout to you about how you need saving have ever been to any school.

That is true, although the Council of the Muslim Faith wants restrictions on Imams only. As far as I can see, they haven't proposed to regulate every last speaker with licenses to preach. They only want to regulate what happens inside of Mosques.

[Dystopia]

It's important to note that France has very different laws regarding free speech and the like compared to the US or UK.  Without knowing the specifics, I do not doubt that France has the power to do this.

OP's source includes a quote by "the head of France's leading Muslim body."  That troubles me, inasmuch as it suggests that the motivation is not solely a state-sanctioned desire to remove "hatred and incitement" and such but also a desire by some muslims to control which aspects of islam are propounded in France.

Franch's concept of free speech and secularism work differently than the US.

The first thing you want to know, is that France isn't just secularist but also promote laicité - In short, it is an ideology that attempts to separate as much as possible one's religious beliefs from one's personal life with others. So to provide two examples that show the difference between the US and France:

In the US, a student would never be banned from wearing a religious symbol in public school, because it is an expression of religious feelings. In France, it is banned because religious symbols don't belong in public school or any area of public sphere at all

It's normal in the US for politicians to express if they believe in god and what they think of religion, etc - In France, it's awkward and frowned upon to make religious statements about yourself, you need to keep it in private.

However, this isn't so much about religious freedom as it is about free speech and preventing terrorism. I dunno if people know this, but there's lots of UN international conventions signed by many countries to promote equality regardless of sex, gender, religion, race, etc - The US sometimes only signs but doesn't ractify, and sometimes makes reservations about certain articles - Many French laws like Holocaust denial and hate speech are actually a mandatory law by international conventions, it's not like France has a choice - Since hate speech can be criminalized in France, even if the French are usually keen on mockery and using free speech to promote unorthodox ideas, this is perfectly valid considering that hate speech isn't just white supremacists but also any person who preaches hate on others, including Islamic extremists. It is possible to do this, and it becomes urgent with the events in Paris. Moreover, I suspect more freedoms will have to be restricted in the name of security simply because there isn't a choice. BTW, being in a State of emergency, France can restrict citizens' rights more than usual because that's one of the advantages of declaring state of emergency.

So yes, France has the powe to do this without violating any international convention and even if state of emergency wasn't activated beforehand.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Will it be OK to preach that most women will go to hell?

Will it be OK to preach that all non-believers will go to hell and be tortured forever?

Will it be OK to preach that non-believers have to pay a tax to the muslims?

Will it be OK to preach that the Jews killed the prophets?

Will it be OK to preach that the Jews and apes are related?

Will it be OK to preach that the Jews are the greediest of all humankind?

Will it be OK to preach that the Christians and Jews know that the muslims are right?

Will it be OK to preach that muslims should curse all non-muslims?

Will it be OK to preach to kill disbelievers wherever you find them?

Without stuff like that from the Koran what will they preach about?  The sermons will be reduced to about 10 seconds long.