France Begins Shutting Down Mosques and Schools in Crackdown on 'Political Islam'
French authorities close over 150 establishments in 15 districts over radical Islam links
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The French government has started shutting down mosques, schools, and other Islamic establishments in a major nationwide crackdown on "political Islam" in France.
French authorities have closed down over 150 closed associations linked to the proliferation of radical Islamist political ideology across fifteen districts throughout France.
The government has so far shut down 129 drinking establishments, 12 mosques, four schools, and nine other associations with links to "political Islam and communitarianism," France's Secretary of State for the Interior Laurent Nuñez announced.
“We fight against political Islamism that suggests that the law of God is superior to that of the Republic,” Nuñez warned as he spoke to members of the French press.
"'Political Islamism' should never be confused with religious Islam," he added.
The Interior Ministry told AFP that these closures are part of "a comprehensive plan to fight against political Islamism."
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The Interior Ministry noted that the closures had started in February 2018 and were a part of the government's official National Plan for the Prevention of Radicalization (PNPR), Le Figaro reports.
Last spring, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to tackle the France's spiraling problem of political Islam and communitarianism during the second half of his time in office.
“Secularism is the possibility of believing in God or not believing in Him… of never imposing on society a religion or detracting from rules of the Republic to do this," Macron said.
"When we talk about secularism, we do not really speak of secularism, we talk about the communitarianism that has settled in some quarters, of a political Islam that wants to secede from our Republic.”
Radicalization has become so prevalent in France that protocol has been put into place so that public employees can properly alert their superiors to potentially radicalized colleagues.
In October, the French government announced that 27 police officers from the Paris prefecture and dozen public school teachers from across the country were reported for Islamic radicalization this year.
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Last year, fellow EU state Austria introduced similar new laws.
Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ordered the closing of seven mosques and the deportation of “radical” imams back to their homelands due to violations of a recent law in Austria that bans “political Islam”.
“Parallel societies, politicized Islam or radical tendencies have no place in our country,” Mr. Kurz said at a press conference announcing the measures in Vienna, while railing against the disastrous results of multiculturalism in Western Europe.
Kurz believes Muslims must be loyal to Austria and willing to integrate into society if they are to stay in the country.
The new laws state that Muslims must not form a “parallel society” and start preaching "political Islam," identity politics and divisiveness, otherwise they will be expelled.
