STRASBOURG: France will expel any foreigner who threatens security at home or abroad in the name of Islam or does not respect the country's secular traditions, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Thursday.
France will be "intransigent... and I will not hesitate to expel those who claim to follow Islam and represent a serious threat to public order and as foreigners in our country do not respect our laws and values," he said at a ceremony to inaugurate a grand mosque in the eastern city of Strasbourg.
"The preachers of hatred, those espousing obscurantism and fundamentalists ... do not have a place in France," he said. "Racism, fundamentalism is not part of Islam."
"Those who are on our soil to defy our laws and want to attack the foundations of our society cannot remain here," he said.
The mosque, which can hold 1,500 worshippers, is the biggest in France, which with four million Muslims has the largest Islamic population in western Europe.
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@chand: " I have very little respect for any country where a child cannot call his father “Dad” and mother “Mom”." Now, that should put all Frenchies in their proper place!!!!! A child may call his father and grandfather by their first names in America. Does that deprive America also of your respect?
@gp65:
The Strasbourg Mosque is NOT the biggest in Europe, but is declared to be the biggest in France. The biggest mosque in Europe (apart from the ones built by the Moors in Spain, of course) is the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, London. It can hold a maximum of 10 000 worshippers.
@ chand
what about the millions of Muslims living in such lands and enjoying their generosity and good life?
@chand: then why so many muslims going to France
What is there so great about France? Is not this is the same country where their Justice Minister Christiane Taubira recently ruled that "Father" and "Mother" should be removed from all government documents and vocabulary to promote Gay lifestyle. The minister wants to call them "Parent No.1" and "Parent No.2". I have very little respect for any country where a child cannot call his father "Dad" and mother "Mom".
A good decision by the French govt, hopefully other countries in Europe and North America will follow this example. This decision will help millions of such Muslims in these countries who are peaceful, hard working and are grateful on being treated as a human being, a status denied to them back home.
@shahid: good one!
Why ET cannot block Indians to comment on these articles? Is it too difficult to block them?
@Vigilant: There's a difference between hatred that leads to violence and hatred that leads to satire and cartoons. For you it seems the latter is worse if your Prophet is lampooned, but for the saner people in the world, it's the former which is more horrible.
@Vishnu Dutta
Tell us about your education, pakistani minorities don't get threatened by the government that they will be expelled, do they? and before you start talking about the minorities status in pakistan I would like to point you to check your own country first.
@Afzaal Khan: Really? and the religious minorities in pakistan were sent in by india i guess. After all pakistan has been land of muslims since 100000 years. Tells a lot about your education.
@Bemused.
I beg to differ. Nothing in his speech said you can't peacefully protest - he just made it clear that if you riot, harm or threaten to harm others like you do in Pakistan your going to be ejected.
I am waiting to see how many muslims protest in France. Do they have the same bravado they are exuding elsewhere.
What all commentators are missing is the occassion. HE said this at the grand opening of a mosque - which wil be the largest in Europe. The message is 2 fold" - You are free to worship as yuo choose - You are not free to disctate how we should live
Also this message was not given to a group of extremist Frenchmen. This message was given directly to Muslims for whom it was intended - face to face.
A bit different from people like Imran Khan who say one thing to Indian journalists and completely different thing in his jalsas.
@M.Sethi: "How can they ever believe themselves to be secularist,when they even go to the extent of legislating dress codes of the worlds second biggest religious community?…"
Some facts are in order. 1. In order to ensure classrooms are secular, it is forbidden for ANY religious symbol to be worn by anyo one of any religion in state schools. This icnludes the cross. So it IS secular. 2. There is no legislation on what Muslims wear. YEs. Burqas are disallowed due to security issues ut there is no other dress code restriction.
@Raw is War
Basically you don't get the point, there are muslims been living in france since centuries they are as french as any other. May be Saudis and Arab stats should start by deporting all hindus, just cuz they are hindus, then you will cry oh how racist they are.
Stop drinking Kool aid, this website alone is evidence of tolerance shown by Muslims where racist like you are free to comment while in ur shinning india would be arrested for sedition. But that is understandable hum pakistaniyoon ke dil bare hote hain :)
all the countries in the European union should adopt the same policy.
Basically he is saying Buck stops here. Take it or leave it. Do not care for your vote. Country comes first. France has same message for Sikhs, Hindus or Christians. My regards for crystal clear message and no room for ambiguity.
Congratulations Mr. Valls. If France and other countries especialy Britain would have taken similar tough stand in the Past Islamic extremism in Eourope would have been nubbed in the bud but they let it flourish naively or purposefully to turn it into monster. The extremist fear only one thing more than God " Deportation" .start deporting extremists to thier home country and you will get rid of extremism.
@ Afzaal Khan
you dont get the point. France allows muslims to settle in their countries. Will saudis do that?
Very well said... any foreigner not following the social values and instigating violence, should be deported and banned for life. I hope our brethren there are listening to it and will abide by law, since anywhere in the world the problem always link back to pakistan. Very shameful.
France is a lesson in Western hypocrisy. They ban the Niqab, mostly out of xenophobia, then pretend to be great protectors of freedom of choice and freedom of speech. What they are is (generally) racist. That is the real problem.
A faith that emanates from the barrel of a gun is rejected by the peace loving people all over the world. Amar Jaleel
Secularist,not but biggest hypocrites! How can they ever believe themselves to be secularist,when they even go to the extent of legislating dress codes of the worlds second biggest religious community?...They banned Muslim women from wearing a Hijab!
Well said Minister... Why should France tolerate anyone who goes against the country and its principles? Would any Pakistani tolerate anyone who went against Pakistan or its principles?
Excellent! India should follow. Infact, India should start by expelling all those Bangladeshi illegals.
Good Job. Other Countries in the West should follow France.
@Afzaal Khan: The problem is not with them (native French Muslims)..... They have been living in peace for centuries. Problem is only with the people who have not assimilated (nor intend to) with the local society and their norms!! and i hope you must be aware who they are...
Yes we know about Algiers and also about Spain!!
@Indian Wisdom
Why you indians so dumb? Do u know how many french muslims are there who have been living for generations in France? Do you know abt Algiers?
“Those who are on our soil to defy our laws and want to attack the foundations of our society cannot remain here,” he said.
This was bound to happen.... And how can Arabs or Pakistanis complain given their own discriminatory laws against minorities???? May be the only way left to deal with increasing fundamentalism...
Lets see how many Pakistanis / Arabs return choose to return back from France rather than to compromise their Ghairayt???
“The preachers of hatred, those espousing obscurantism and fundamentalists … do not have a place in France,” i think when tabloid published cartoons....minister and French laws were in-effective