France Expels Algerian Imam Linked to Radicalization in Northern Region

Abderrahim Sayah was expelled on Tuesday "on the instructions" of Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Since 2016, he has been considered the leader of Salafism in the Sambre basin. According to state services, he "took an active part in the facts that justified the closure of the place of worship" in 2018 and "contributed to the radicalization" of a district of Maubeuge, reports France 3.

The man arrived in France at the age of 5. In 2014, he created the cultural association "Assalem" which gave birth to the mosque "As-Sunnah" of Hautmont, "known for dispensing a Salafist Wahhabi Islam", "armed jihad" and "violence" towards Jews and Christians, according to the expulsion order.

According to the expulsion order, Abderrahim Sayah is also "guilty of numerous offenses" the most recent of which are "specially directed against the security forces and institutions". Yet, during a hearing before the expulsion commission of the Lille court in September, he claimed to be a "man of peace" exercising only an "administrative function" at the mosque.

"Since 2017, thanks to the action of the services (of the Ministry of the Interior), 850 radicalized foreigners have been expelled," Gérald Darmanin said on social media. Last January, the imam Hassan Iquioussen was expelled to Morocco by Belgium after fleeing France, which accused him of radicalization.