76 Mosques Threatened With Closure Over Operation France Calles War On Extremism

Grand Mosque of Paris (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - The French government launched what it claims is a "grand and unprecedented measure" to combat what it calls religious extremism. The move was to target 76 mosques suspected of being part of separatism.

Quoting Al Jazeera, Friday, December 4, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin delivered an interview with RTL radio via Twitter. He posted an article: In the next few days, checks will be carried out at these places of worship. If the doubts have been confirmed, I will ask for closure.

He also said 66 undocumented migrants suspected of radicalization had been deported. In recent weeks French President Emmanuel Macron's administration has responded to deadly attacks in the name of religion.

The French government vowed to continue to crack down on what Darmanin described as "the enemy within." Darmanin said 76 mosques out of more than 2,600 mosques have been marked as a possible threat to the values of the French Republic and its security.

"There are concentrated areas of worship that are clearly anti-Republican (where) the priests are followed by intelligence services and have discourses that go against our values," he said.

The inspections to be carried out are part of a response to two horrific attacks which took a huge shock in France. In mid-October, a teacher was beheaded showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his students. Not long after, there was a stabbing that resulted in the death of three people at a church in Nice.

Darmanin did not reveal which places of worship would be examined. In notes he sent to the head of regional security, he listed 16 addresses in the Paris area and 60 others in other parts of France.

Minister Darmanin also cited the fact that only a small proportion of the 2,600 Muslim places of worship in France are suspected of selling radical theories. These conditions indicate that "we are far from a situation of widespread radicalization."

"Almost all Muslims in France respect Republican law and are hurt by it," he said.

The movement was getting more intense

In October, Macron drew up a plan to tackle what he called "Islamic separatism", as he described Islam as a religion in crisis around the world. The comments angered Muslims in France and globally.

France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe. On October 20, France ordered the temporary closure of a mosque inside as part of a crackdown on people suspected of incitement to hatred following the murder of Samuel Paty, who showed a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in his classroom.

The Grand Mosque of Pantin, which is located on the outskirts of Paris where the population is low-income, has been closed. The mosque was closed after sharing a video venting hatred against Paty featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad while teaching. The video was shared before Paty died as a result of being beheaded in broad daylight near her school.

France has also closed two organizations - Muslim BarakaCity and the civil rights group that monitors hate crimes, Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF). Both denied government accusations that they were harboring "radical" ties.

The government crackdown has left some Muslims feeling increasingly isolated in their own country. Several Muslim leaders, who support the government's fight against extremism, warned against equating their majority faith with inciting hatred.