France Expels Imam and Family on Eid over Controversial Sermon

A sermon costs dearly to the former imam of the Grand Mosque of Saint-Chamond, Ahamada Mmadi. He and his family were expelled to the Comoros, their country of origin, on May 2. "The association Jamyat Al Nahdhoit Al Islamiyat de Mdjoiezi Hambou informs Muslims in general and Comorians in particular that brother Ahamada Mmadi, former Imam of the mosque of Saint-Chamond (France) has just been expelled this morning by the French police, with his wife, his 3-year-old daughter, and his two sons of 18 months and 5 months to their country of origin, the Comoros," the Comorian association said in a statement, thus confirming the decision of the administrative court of Lyon.

"On October 20, 2021, by prefectural decree, the application for renewal of Mr. AHAMADA’s residence permit was rejected and an order to leave French territory (OQTF) was issued against Mr. AHAMADA and his wife, presented irregularly in France. Following an appeal filed by Mr. and Mrs. AHAMADA, the administrative court of Lyon confirmed their OQTF on March 18, 2022. The person concerned was repatriated with his family this Monday, May 2, 2022," the Loire prefecture explained in a statement. The origin of this expulsion is a sermon incompatible with the principles of the Republic and gender equality delivered on July 20, 2021.

Specifically, it was a verse from the Quran read during an Eid al-Adha sermon. He had asked "Muslim women who wish to enter Paradise to obey their husbands [...] to watch over the rights of Allah and those of their spouses," the Comorian association specifies. "I just quoted a verse from the Quran. These are not my words, but those of the prophet, and I am treated like a terrorist. It’s as if they were blaming a priest or a rabbi for citing a sacred text from their religion’s book," defended the imam Ahamada Mmadi.