Prominent French Imam Urges Muslims to Adapt Religious Practices for Integration

The Imam of Bordeaux strongly attacked the behavior of certain Muslims. "The Muslim must not expose himself," thinks Tareq Oubrou, who calls on Muslims to modify their religious practices, including the organization of prayer, in order to better integrate.

What about the "5 pillars" of Islam? Recalling, in turn, the profession of faith, prayer, alms, fasting and the great pilgrimage to Mecca, which, according to him, are indeed fundamental rites, Tareq Oubrou observes that "he who does his five prayers and eats pork, but does not harm others, is closer to God, canonically, than he who does not eat pork, but does not pray as the Quran requires". In other words, it is a waste of time for Muslims to "cling stubbornly to halal without caring to teach their children the proper practice of prayers that provide spiritual and ethical transformation".

In addition, the Imam of Bordeaux states that the Muslim is not obliged to abandon his job to go and pray. "We can, for example, group the prayer times and pray longer at home if his function requires it," he indicates. In short, for Tareq Oubrou, the Muslim must rather be concerned with his "faith in God" and his "great mercy", rather than with his "works" which alone, he insists, "do not open the doors of paradise for him".

In view of the vulnerability of Islam today, Tareq Oubrou is surprised by those who do not allow doubt. The problem, he says, "is that after having been great, Islam, as a civilization, has fallen into decline. It is now vulnerable and tense. To reassure ourselves, we prefer not to doubt. But that has nothing to do with the texts and religion itself". And, to add that doubt is inherent in our religion and was then a catalyst for knowledge.

Much to the chagrin of the Imam of Bordeaux, he insists on the need for a "discreet visibility" of Islam. "Any religion that respects itself needs calm and serenity to allow it to fulfill itself in spirituality," he thinks. Indeed, on the issue of the veil, for example, he invites Muslims in France to adapt to the law in order to better integrate. "For me, discretion is the only solution today to preserve democracy," he recommends. And, to specify that it is a question of being visible in modesty. "I want Muslims to be dignified, but not proud, a pride of pride. God is hidden, the angels are hidden, the essential is in the "noumenon", the discreet sign, not in the phenomenon. Islam has become a religion of display, but it is a deformation," laments the Imam of Bordeaux.