France outlaws imams paid by other nations

France has banned imams trained and funded by other nations from preaching in its mosques under new rules aimed at limiting the radicalization of Islam, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has confirmed.

The change, which was unveiled four years ago but that came into force on Jan 1, means imams trained and funded by other countries will no longer be allowed to enter France to work in its 2,900 mosques, Darmanin said in a letter sent on Friday to nations known to fund imams.

He said foreign-funded imams who are already in France will not be able to remain after April 1, unless they change their status from foreign-funded to locally funded. He said overseas-funded imams will, therefore, need to find employment with local associations that manage places of worship in France.

Darmanin said the changes are aimed at ensuring imams who preach in France are not beholden to other nations, the French state-owned news agency Radio France Internationale reported.

He also said in his letter that imams employed directly by France-based religious associations will need to have been trained in a way that is "respectful of the laws and principles of the republic".

The changes were first unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron in 2020 and were aimed at around 300 imams who preach in France but are paid by nations including Algeria, Morocco, and Turkey. Macron said at the time he wanted to end "foreign influences" on Islam in France and the growing threat of "Islamist separatism".

Macron also said France will increase the number of imams trained in France.

Tareq Oubrou, the grand imam of the main mosque in the southwestern city of Bordeaux, told the French television news channel BFMTV the move will likely help reduce political and theological input from other countries. Abdallah Zekri, vice-president of the French Council of Muslim Faith, also broadly welcomed the move, but insisted imams currently working in France are not separatists.

Chemsdine Hafiz, dean of the University of the Grand Mosque in Paris, told the French newspaper Le Monde the change will mean the institution, which he said is funded and run by the Algerian government, will now need to "ensure that the Algerian state is on its side in terms of financing, which will allow it to pay the salaries that must be paid, and which will allow it to retain imams who want to work in France, but under a French contract".

Despite the prohibition on imams funded by other nations, France will continue to allow "Ramadan imams" into the country. The clerics, who number around 300 and include chanters and reciters, arrive in France each year to participate in events held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.