France will expel a Muslim prayer leader who said publicly that a man can strike his wife under certain conditions, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, just five days after another imam was forced to leave the country.
Justice Minister Dominique Perben said he was "personally scandalized" by the remarks made by Chirane Abdelkader Bouziane in the magazine Lyon Mag. On Tuesday, Bouziane qualified his remarks to reporters, saying that women should be hit only on their buttocks.
Bouziane, 52, from Algeria, was quoted by Lyon Mag as saying he favors beating a wife "under certain conditions, notably if the woman cheats on her husband." He claimed that the Koran "authorizes" such punishment -- an interpretation that is rejected by most Muslims.
Expulsion is a measure designed "to protect" the nation, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
"The government cannot tolerate remarks in public that are contrary to human rights, detrimental to human dignity and in particular to the dignity of women," the statement said.
It added that "calls of hate or violence or defense of terrorism" were also intolerable.
The state-run TV channel France-2 said Bouziane, imam of a mosque in the Lyon suburb of Venissieux, was to be expelled yesterday morning.
Last Thursday, France expelled an imam who called for jihad, or holy war, from his mosque in Brest, in western France.
France is keeping an increasingly watchful eye on Muslim leaders with a reputation for stirring up the faithful as it works to stamp out the seeds of terrorism and bring the huge Muslim population into the mainstream.
A recently enacted law banning head scarves in public schools starting in September is part of the effort to fight Muslim fundamentalism and ensure equality for women.
END OF AN ERA: The vote brings the curtain down on 20 years of socialist rule, which began in 2005 when Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, was elected president A center-right senator and a right-wing former president are to advance to a run-off for Bolivia’s presidency after the first round of elections on Sunday, marking the end of two decades of leftist rule, preliminary official results showed. Bolivian Senator Rodrigo Paz was the surprise front-runner, with 32.15 percent of the vote cast in an election dominated by a deep economic crisis, results published by the electoral commission showed. He was followed by former Bolivian president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second with 26.87 percent, according to results based on 92 percent of votes cast. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who had been tipped
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
RSS