http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/01/2013129152640888716.html
France to deport 'radical foreign imams'
France's interior minister says the move is part of a fight against
"global jihadism".
Last Modified: 29 Jan 2013 16:32
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls told a conference that several
'radical foreign preachers' will be expelled [EPA]
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has said that Paris is set to
deport a string of radical religious imams as part of a fight against "global
jihadism".
"Several radical foreign preachers will be expelled in the coming days,"
Valls told a Brussels conference called to tackle extremism in Europe on
Tuesday, without identifying any of the individuals concerned.
"I don't confuse this radical Islam with the Islam of France but there is
a religious environment, there are Salafist groupings, who are involved in a
political process, whose aim is to monopolise cultural associations, the
schooling system," he added.
"We will expel all these imams, all these foreign preachers who denigrate
women, who hold views that run counter to our values and who say there is a
need to combat France.
"We have to be extremely firm and that I will be," he said.
The move is part of a programme that France has carried for years against
those who preach violence or considered to bet a threat to public order and
French values.
In last October, France expelled a Tunisian imam accused of calling his
followers to "violent jihad" and violence against women, the interior ministry
said.
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