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Rabat – The League for Human Rights (LDH) issued a statement on Monday to denounce the French government’s decision to expel Moroccan imam Hassan Iquioussen.
The NGO argued that both Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin and the prefect of the Hauts-de-France region, Georges -Francois Leclerc, have refused to renew the residence permit of the French-born imam.
The imam, who has lived in France since his birth, the NGO pointed out, has been living in the country under a residence permit that was “renewed without any problem at each request.”
The NGO defended the imam, saying that Iquissoen’s “behavior did not change between the periods before or after this previous renewal,” and that the reasons the French government wants to expel him date back to “twenty years.”
Although the imam does not pose any security threats, the authorities want to expel him to please the minister “who once again gives pledges to the far right,” the NGO argued
Calling for the respect of Iquessoun’s beliefs and convictions as a Muslim, the NGO stressed that the imam is not yet facing any criminal charges.
“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,” LDH concluded.
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In July, Interior Minister Darmanin publicly accused the Moroccan imam of adopting “hate speech against the values of France,” arguing that such beliefs are contrary to France’s principles of secularism.
The imam has been publishing YouTube videos viewed by ten thousand followers.
Le Point, a leading French newspaper, has reported that France refused to renew the imam’s residency because of what they consider as his problematic discourse.
Some reports also suggested that France is attempting to use its controversial “separatism law” of August 2021 to reject the imam’s application to renew his residence permit.
France’s Muslim community has heavily criticized the “separatism law,” arguing that it targets the country’s Muslim minority. The law was part of Macron’s program to “counter-terrorism” after heinous attacks in France last year, but many observers have described it as one of the best indications of the “droitisation” (swing to the right) of French society and political discourse.
