Yet the president depicted a grim picture of the state of Islam, saying it was “in crisis, including in countries where it is a majority religion.”
“We must help this religion organize itself so that it’s a partner for the Republic,” Macron said. “We need to build an Islam of enlightenment,” he added, referring to the philosophical movement that promoted the separation of church and state.
Macron said the proposed law would also:
- Make it easier for the state to intervene when public servants show signs of radicalization
- Strengthen controls and dry up funding for organizations that promote radicalism under the guise of sports or leisure
- Make school mandatory from the age of three and ban homeschooling to prevent the formation of Islamic schools, though children with health issues would be exempt
- Emphasis oversight of language schools
- Create a certification for French imams
- Monitor funding to religious groups from foreign countries, and ban projects “incompatible with the values of the Republic”
- Set aside 10 million euros to support high-level Islamic studies, and create a scientific Islamology institute
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