Muslim Brotherhood: a "threat to the national cohesion" of France
The movement, born in 1928 in Egypt, defends the project of a conservative political Islam that could have "growing effects on the public space and on the local political game."
Emmanuel Macron and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Emmanuel Macron convened a meeting of the Defense Council on Wednesday to examine a report calling for "actions" on the ground "to curb the rise of political Islamism" in France.
Also, in that document, the Islamist brotherhood of the Muslim Brothers are said to be a "threat to national cohesion."
Prepared by two senior officials who conducted interviews with 45 academics, the document warns of a progression of Islamism "from below" and at the municipal level, which would constitute "a threat in the short and medium term" to the secular country.
According to the report, "municipal Islamism" could have "growing effects on public space and on the local political game," with "networks that promote communal withdrawal, up to the creation of islamist ecosystems increasingly numerous."
Although the report describes as "subversive" the Muslim Brotherhood's project, which would seek to gradually modify the rules on secularism and gender equality, it rules out that they want to apply Islamic law in France.
However, even if they "do not resort to violent action," there is "the risk of damage to the associative fabric and to republican institutions, and more broadly to national cohesion," reads the report, reviewed by AFP.
The Muslims of France, which in 2017 succeeded the Union of Islamic Organizations of France (UOIF), "is identified as the national branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in France."
This movement, born in 1928 in Egypt, defends the project of a conservative political Islam and several countries have banned it, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and more recently Jordan.
The report also estimates at 139 the number of places of worship in France are affiliated with Muslims of France, in addition to “68 considered close to the federation, spread across 55 departments,” RFI reported.
In total, this represents “7% of the 2,800 registered Muslim places of worship” in mainland France, with an average attendance of “91,000 worshippers on Fridays,” the report stated.
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