France has expelled an Imam after he described the French tricolour as “satanic” and of “no value with Allah.” France24 reports that Interior minister Gerald Darmanin announced his expulsion saying, “The radical Imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi has been expelled from the national territory, less than 12 hours after his arrest. We will not let people get away with anything.”
Mahjoubi was put on a flight to Tunis from Paris. On his arrival there he described his removal as “arbitrary”, and that he intended to challenge his deportation.
“I will fight to return to France where I have lived for 40 years,” France24 quoted him as saying from his in-laws’ home outside Tunis.
France24 quoting AFP said the official expulsion order charged him with preaching a “retrograde, intolerant and violent” image of Islam that would encourage behaviour against French values, discrimination against women … “and jihadi radicalisation.”
The expulsion order also said he referred to the “Jewish people as the enemy” and called for “the destruction of Western society.”
Majoubi has denied the charges saying, “I did not insult the Jewish community or the flag of France.”
He vowed to legally contest his removal from the country where he has lived for 40 years.
“My lawyer is going to take legal action in France if the court does not grant me justice, I will appeal and then I will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights,” he was quoted as saying.
The deportation is in line with a tough new immigration law that Darmanin says “Makes France stronger”. It is also a response to the rise of the far right in French opinion polls. “Firmness is the rule,” he said, describing Mahjoubi as a “radical Imam who made unacceptable comments.”
