The Ministry of the Interior in France dismissed Madi Ahmada, the imam of the Grand Mosque of Saint-Chammond in the central Loire region, for allegedly reciting Quranic verses and Hadith during the Eid al-Adha sermon, which it considered “contrary to the values ​​of the Republic.”

The decision to dismiss Ahmad came at the request of the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmannan, under the pretext of his recitation in his recent sermon and verses from Surat Al-Ahzab addressing the women of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The French Interior Minister requested the dismissal of the imam of the mosque, after Isabelle Serbli, a member of the municipal council from the Republican Party, shared a video of the sermon online, Anadolu Agency reported.

Darmanin asked the Loire governor’s office to dismiss the imam, and to ensure that his residence permit was not renewed, because he “finds these terms unacceptable” and “considers them against gender equality,” as he put it.

Speaking to Le Progres, Imam Ahmada said that some of the phrases and verses in the sermon were taken and used out of context, adding: “Our girls do not have to stay at home, they become doctors or engineers.”

In a message on social media, the mosque’s administration announced the dismissal of the imam, and the Loire regional authorities said they were working not to renew the imam’s residency.

Also, at the request of the Minister of the Interior, another imam, Mehdi, was fired after he criticized the way some Muslim women dress in a sermon he gave on 4 June at Genevilliers, a mosque in Hauts-de-Seine.

The Minister of Interior also asked the regional authorities to intervene and suspend mosque activities if a similar sermon was repeated, using the new tools allowed by law to “promote respect for the principles of the republic,” which rights groups say carries risks of discrimination.

The imam was dismissed, last week, after a meeting of the authorities of the province of Hauts-de-Seine, while the French Minister of the Interior announced yesterday on Twitter that, at his request, the two imams who gave unacceptable sermons in Hauts-de-Seine and the Loire were dismissed.

Minister Darmanan added: “We will relentlessly confront those who oppose the rules and values ​​of the Republic.”

On Friday, July 23, 2021, the National Assembly of France (Parliament) finally adopted the controversial draft “Principles for Strengthening Respect for the Values ​​of the Republic”, which was first defined as “the fight against separatist Islam.”

The Minister of Interior said in a tweet via his Twitter account: “We give ourselves the means to fight those who misuse religion to attack the values ​​of the Republic.”

The “Separatism Law” prepared by the government of President Emmanuel Macron faces criticism that it targets Muslims in the country, almost imposes restrictions on all aspects of their lives, and seeks to show some things that rarely happen as a chronic problem.

It also provides for oversight of mosques and associations responsible for their management, and for monitoring the funding of Muslim civil organizations.

It also imposes restrictions on the freedom of families to provide education for their children at home, and it also prohibits the wearing of headscarves in pre-university education institutions.

Under the new law, those convicted of the “separatist” crime he created are liable to five years in prison and fines of up to 75,000 euros ($88,000) for those who threaten or assault an elected official or civil servant; For their unwillingness to follow the rules that govern French public services, such as refusing to undergo a medical examination by a female doctor, according to the New York Times.

It is noteworthy that France is one of the largest European countries in terms of the size of the Muslim community, as their number reached about 5.7 million until mid-2016, which constitutes 8.8% of the total population.