Caught in France‘s sweeping crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists, a Muslim scholar says he is been punished for defending human rights from Gaza to Africa.
Facing a number of authorized battles in France, Abdourahmane Ridouane, a Nigerien nationwide who has lived in France for 35 years and serves as president of the Pessac Mosque in Bordeaux, has been below rising scrutiny by the French authorities.
Most lately, he was accused of “glorifying terrorism” — a cost he says stems immediately from his vocal advocacy for Palestinian rights amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal onslaught in Gaza.
In March, Ridouane was handed a four-month suspended jail sentence and a two-year ban from getting into French territory. He has appealed the choice, which additionally positioned him on a listing of people allegedly concerned in terror-related actions. “What the government accuses me of is defending the rights of Muslims,” Ridouane informed Anadolu.
“First, I raise my voice against Islamophobia, and secondly, I raise my voice against the exploitation of African countries, like my country, Niger … The third fight that the French government has been targeting me for defending the rights of the Palestinian people,” he stated.
– ‘Glorifying terrorism’: Pro-Palestinian stance below hearth
The prices in opposition to Ridouane are largely associated to social media posts supporting Palestinian resistance and paying tribute to slain Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.
In 2023, following the Oct. 7 cross-border Hamas assault and subsequent Israeli offensive on Gaza, French authorities introduced that people referring to Hamas as a resistance motion would face prosecution.
Ridouane says {that a} publish honoring Haniyeh’s wrestle for Palestinian freedom triggered the federal government’s accusations in opposition to him. “Any statement a Muslim makes to defend Palestine becomes evidence of glorifying terrorism,” he stated.
Despite profitable some authorized victories, Ridouane has been the topic of expulsion orders below France’s 2021 separatism legislation. Niger, nevertheless, has refused to grant journey authorization, stopping his deportation.
During the method, he was held for 3 months in a detention middle in Paris. Just 5 days earlier than his scheduled launch, the Interior Ministry filed one other criticism in opposition to him for “glorifying terrorism.”
“It is clear that justice is being instrumentalized,” Ridouane stated.
“Justice is being held hostage by the government to track down, silence, gag, and exclude all voices that try to defend the cause of the Palestinian people,” he added, claiming that the choice to expel him and revoke his residence allow was based mostly “solely” on his social media exercise.
While Ridouane faces prices over his remarks on Gaza, France and different European international locations have lately toughened their stance on Israel’s actions. Most lately, Macron warned Israel “can’t have a free pass” in Gaza and has proposed Paris recognizing Palestinian statehood.
– Accusations of radicalism for denouncing Islamophobia
Ridouane has additionally confronted accusations of extremism for denouncing what he describes as systemic Islamophobia in France. “If you call out the Islamophobia Muslims experience in this country, you are labeled radicalized,” he stated. “When you criticize the state of Israel, you are called antisemitic. But when you criticize Islamophobia in France … you are radicalized, you are a terrorist.”
He insists that the Pessac Mosque promotes a peaceable message rooted within the legislation. “We simply ask for respect for the law. But since Islamophobia is institutional, you can’t say that publicly without being portrayed as a criminal,” he stated.
Currently, Ridouane is below tight administrative management. He is confined to his commune, requires authorities approval to journey even inside the area, is barred from leaving his residence between 8.30 p.m. and 6.30 a.m., and should report back to a police station twice a day.
“I am not expellable because Niger refuses to grant the … exit permit. And I have no life,” he stated.
– Critique of French function in Africa
Ridouane believes his criticism of French neocolonial practices in Africa additionally contributed to the state’s focusing on.
He pointed to a 2013 report indicating that Niger, one of many world’s high uranium producers, provides 30% of France’s uranium wants, but the West African nation stays one of many world’s poorest.
Since then, that determine has declined to roughly half, although Niger stays a vital supply of the mineral for France, a rustic that depends on nuclear power to energy its home electrical energy grid.
“Africans should be able to manage their countries, control their resources. And the Palestinian people should have their freedom. That’s why the government is relentlessly targeting me,” he stated.
“For the government, I represent a threat. I am Black, I am Muslim, I oppose Islamophobia, I oppose the exploitation of Africa, and I also oppose the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
– Growing stress on Muslims in France
Ridouane hyperlinks his case to a broader crackdown on Muslims in France amid a shift to the political proper inside and past its borders, together with in Germany and England.
“Every day, there is a controversy in the media. Every day. If it is not a minister speaking to target the Muslim community, it is a pundit, a mainstream media outlet, or an intellectual,” he stated.
He argues that even below a democratic authorities, insurance policies as soon as related to far-right ideology are actually mainstream, noting that many imams who’ve lived in France for over 30 years, with French kids and grandchildren, have already been expelled.
Citing the case of Franco-Palestinian European Parliamentarian Rima Hassan, who has confronted calls to strip her of citizenship for talking in opposition to Israel’s struggle in Gaza, Ridouane stated: “Even if you are French, your nationality does not protect you.”
“I have lived in France for 35 years. I have never broken the law. I have never harmed this country. I just want equality. Muslims should be treated like all other citizens,” he stated.
Source: www.anews.com.tr