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Rabat – The Paris Administrative Court on Friday suspended the expulsion order of Moroccan-French imam Hassan Iquioussen.
The court ruled in favor of the imam, suggesting that his expulsion would cause a “disproportionate attack” on his private life and family.
The court also highlighted that the imam was born in France, where he has resided along with his wife and five “French children and fifteen French grandchildren.”
The decision angered French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who originally issued an expulsion order against the imam, and had announced that Morocco has accepted to receive him when he is expelled.
In a press release, Darmanin said today that he was determined to “fight against those who make and disseminate comments of an anti-semitic nature and contrary to equality between men and women.”
The official vowed to appeal the court’s decision.
Iquioussen’s lawyer Lucie Simon commented on the court’s verdict, thanking the French justice system for being able to keep a “cool head despite the media coverage of this case.”
Sofiane Iquioussen, one of the sons of the imam, told AFP that he and his family are “very happy with this decision.”
Several NGOs and mosques have expressed support for the Moroccan imam, condemning Darmanin’s expulsion order and accusations against the imam.
Darmanin argues that Iquioussen has been involved in promoting hate speech against French values.
“There is a clear principle in a secular and democratic society: the only limits to freedom of expression are the possibility for others to exercise the same freedom, and public order. This principle must be respected,” the League for Human Rights (LDH) said in response to Darmanin’s accusations and expulsion order.
The Moroccan imam was born in France to Moroccan parents in 1964 in Denain, in northeastern France.
