Mufti urges Muslims in France to interact with non-Muslims, respect French laws

Egypt's Mufti Shawqi Allam has urged Muslim community in France to interact positively with the French society with maintaining their religious teachings at the same time.

During a meeting on Tuesday with a high-level delegation of French Senate in the presence of a large number of French journalists, the Mufti called on the French Muslims to respect French laws, pointing out to the Cairo declaration issued by the recently held Ifta conference in Cairo which called for co-existence among Muslim communities abroad.

The Mufti said that Dar al Ifta of Egypt exerted strenuous efforts at all levels to fight extremist thoughts inside and outside the country and correct the misunderstanding of Islamic concepts which had been tarnished by terrorist groups.

The Mufti rejected linking extremism and terrorism to Islam, saying those who commit such acts do not belong to Islam.

Allam pointed out to acts of violence and major crimes against humanity although all divine religions call for coexistence and peace among all human beings.

He said the Egyptian society enjoys unique co-existence among its fabric, pointing out that all Egyptian constitutions from 1923 till 2014 were keen on highlighting equality among all Egyptians irrespective of their religion, creed or color.

He said that Dar Al Ifta is ready to train mosque imams in France to enable them to fight extremism and entrench coexistence in society.

For her part, the head of the delegation Nathalie Goulet praised efforts exerted by Dar al Ifta in combating extremism and terrorism and to spread the culture of peace and co-existence.

Source: MENA