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.
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