Author: David Gauthier-Villars
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: January 8, 2010
URL: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126291773072620959.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_World
French authorities said Thursday that they
have arrested and deported an Egyptian imam described as "a radical Islamist"
and suspected of having issued calls to violence.
The move comes just a few weeks after French
President Nicolas Sarkozy urged France's Muslims to practice their faith with
"humble discretion."
The move also is occurring as the country
is considering ways to tighten security checks on travelers originating from
several, mainly Muslim countries, after the alleged attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound
flight on Christmas Day.
France's Interior Ministry said that Ali Ibrahim
El Soudany, who was arrested on Thursday and immediately put on a flight bound
to Egypt, had called on followers "to fight against the West" in
recent sermons at several mosques near Paris.
"People who preach hatred and have nothing
in common with freedom of faith, don't belong to our territory, " Interior
Minister Brice Hortefeux said in a statement. The imam had been under watch
for several months, Mr. Hortefeux said.
Mr. El Soudany, who was still on board a plane
late Thursday according to an Interior Ministry spokeswoman, couldn't be reached
to comment. Officials at mosques where Mr. El Soudany is believed to have
delivered sermons declined to comment.
The ministry said that including Mr. El Soudany,
France has expelled 129 alleged radical Islamists since 2001.
As part of a wider fight against radical forms
of Islam, French authorities are considering adopting a law banning the burqa,
the head-to-toe garment that is worn by some Muslim women and that conceals
their faces, saying it isn't a religious symbol but "a sign of enslavement
and debasement" of women. With an estimated five million Muslims, France
is home to the European Union's largest Muslim community.
