French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, did not rule out designating the Brotherhood a “terrorist” group, considering that Muslims are the first victims of terrorism.
In an interview with the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Le Drian said that France is firmly fighting terrorism after it has been exposed again to hateful attacks, adding that they adopt the principle of objective analysis of the threat that terrorist groups pose on national security.
Further more, Le Drian added that his country “is committed to combating the influence of fundamentalist thought and extremist deviations, and in this In this regard, the government has recently taken decisions to dissolve several associations.”
He indicated that “this battle is against ideas and beliefs through combating speeches that incite hatred, thinking that seeks to distort religion in the service of political ends, and attempts aimed at removing Muslim citizens from the rest of society.”
The French minister added that his country “is facing double terrorism, which includes the incubating environment of hatred that some are fueling, and the direct terrorist threat that is still practiced by terrorist organizations such as” ISIS “and” Al-Qaeda “, who continue their terrorist activities in the Middle East and Africa.
He pointed out that “the French military activity, which began several years ago in the Sahel region and in the Middle East, aims to combat terrorism and extremism.”
He added: “Today we must fight terrorism in all its aspects on the one hand, and extremist deviation and fundamentalist thought on the other side. This battle we want to lead, and we must lead it with Muslims, as they are the first victims of terrorism.”
Le Drian warned: “Some countries in which presidents are leading campaigns of slander, slander, gossip, exploitation and hatred against France, led by Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, using the influence of social networks to delude others that France and Europe reject Islam.”
Le Drian emphasized: “French law in essence stipulates the state’s neutrality with regard to all religions, and that France is a country of tolerance, which rejects the division of society and discrimination between citizens on the basis of their religious affiliation, whether they are Muslims, Christians or Jews.”
He stressed that France has a deep respect for Islam, “as Islam is a religion linked to it by ancient, deep and rich historical and cultural ties, resulting from a set of mutual influences in various fields.”
Le Drian noted that his country would remain vigilant against any speech that incites hatred or racism. And if some tensions arise from time to time, we must calm them down. Discrimination or hate speech are incompatible with our values, and we must prosecute everyone who does this, and this is what we are already doing.
Le Drian urged the institutions that represent the Islamic religion in France to improve their organization, which would allow the establishment of a close dialogue with the public authorities, noting that “for this reason we want imams in France to receive training in our country. Parallel to religious jurisprudence, this training must include mastery of language.” French and an awareness of the basic principles upon which the French Republic is based. “
