French-Turkish Muslim group Confédération Islamique Milli Gorus (CIMG) slammed the French government for twisting the impositions of controversial “Islam Charter” after Interior Ministry delegate Marlène Schiappa said imams would have to recognize sam-sex marriage rights in their preachings once the Charter is approved by the parliament.
The Minister Delegate in charge of citizenship, Mrs Marlène Schiappa, made the controversial remarks on the LCI channel on March 23th saying Imams in France “must recognize in their sermons the right to marriage for people of the same sex”.
The so-called Islam Charter imposes several set of rules which the government claims are necessary to fight “Islamic terror.” But large Muslim groups like CIMG warns that the charter has not been throughly discussed and its ambiguous language could cause severe violation of Muslim rights.
Eyup Sahin, head of CIMG, said in his statement that Schiappa’s remarks are exactly why his organization refused to sign the much-criticized charter. “CIMG and other Muslim federations have stressed the importance of drawing up a charter that is unambiguous and would obtain the support of all,” Sahin reiterated. CIMG and other Turkish-French groups pledge alliance to the French values at every occasion but say the charter needs to be properly discussed.
CIMG also says the charter paves the way for the government to interfere in personal religious rights. “This deplorable statement demonstrates once again the interference of politicians in the religious sphere and this is no longer bearable,” CIMG statement stressed while calling on politicians to stop interfering in Muslim faith.
The Turkish-French Muslim group has also welcomed the condemnation of Mrs Schiappa’s “clumsy remarks” by the Great Mosque in Paris which has signed the Islam Charter.
CIMG reiterated its call on the heads of the signatory federations to resume dialogue with all Muslim federations in order to implement a common project for a clear and acceptable Charter of Principles.
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