French Islam

Interesting developments that appear to explain in part Chirac's Iraq stance. Chirac has voters to which he must pander.

French Islam Wins Officially Recognized Voice

ÉVRY, France, April 13 — For Karima Debza, an Algerian-born mother of three and a volunteer in the local mosque, casting her vote today is a symbolic step toward promoting the rights of Muslim women in the workplace.

For Djiba Aboubacar, a Senegalese-born accountant, the election is a flawed but long overdue process that will eventually give voice to France's diverse and divided Muslim community.

"It is part of an ambitious national project to create what Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has called "an official Islam of France." Mr. Sarkozy, who has spent much time visiting mosques and Islamic centers to win support for the council

"This is the first time that Muslims are voting as Muslims, that I don't feel like a foreigner in France," said Muhammad Aziz Aziz, the Moroccan-born liaison official between town authorities and the grand mosque of this city, which he described as the biggest mosque in Western Europe. "This is the first time that Islam is considered a building block in France's democracy."

Update:France threatens to deport radical Muslims

PARIS (Reuters) - France has threatened to deport any Muslim leaders preaching extremist views, after fundamentalist Muslims won a strong voice in a new council to represent Islam in France.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday the council, which will represent the country's five million Muslims, would not be allowed to become a breeding ground for radical Islam.

"Islamic law will not apply anywhere because it is not the law of the French republic. Any Imams whose views run contrary to the values of the republic will be deported," Sarkozy told Europe 1 radio.