France Debates Mosque Funding to Counter Salafist Influence, 5 Years After Charlie Hebdo

Five years after the march of January 11, 2015, organized after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher, the imam of Alfortville in the Val-de-Marne, and witness to history, still remembers this human tide, which saw more than 4 million people march throughout France. "It was magnificent, it was warm and friendly. I have a very good memory of it."

According to the religious leader, little or nothing has changed since this march. According to him, very few things have been done, except for open house days organized in the mosques of France to reassure the population.

Continuing his explanations, Abdelali Mamoun believes that the compatibility between religion and the republic must be recalled, even hammered home in the mosque. "It is up to the imams to reassure people, to tell them that they are not traitors to their religion if they are patriots and faithful to republican values. We are talking about education, not just information. It is a long-term job, which must be done over at least a generation, because we have lost a lot of time," he specified on Europe 1.

Determined to fight radicalization through a republican Islam, Abelali Mamoune called for a law on the financing of mosques to reduce the influence of rigorous religious movements, such as the Salafists or the Muslim Brotherhood. "It is absolutely essential to renationalize the Islam of France through Muslims of France, faithful to France and whose interests are those of France. And not those of countries that outsource from abroad," warned the imam.