French Muslims condemn kidnapping

French Muslim leaders yesterday condemned the kidnapping in Iraq of two reporters and said there should be no negotiation over the hostage-takers’ reported demand that France overturn a law banning Islamic head scarves in schools.

The government showed no signs of capitulation, with the interior minister defending the law that takes effect when school resumes this week following the summer break. “It is not directed at anyone but aims at preserving everybody’s freedom,” said interior minister Dominique de Villepin, flanked by Muslim leaders he met with. “It plays a role in the cohesion of our country.”

Islamic militants who claimed to be holding Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot on Saturday gave France 48 hours to overturn the law, according to Arab TV station Al-Jazeera. It showed a tape of the journalists saying they were being held but treated well.

The kidnapping overturned the notion that France’s opposition to the invasion of Iraq and its generally pro-Arab policy mean that it is not a frontline target for Islamic terrorism. Al-Jazeera said militants claiming to hold the reporters described the head scarf law as “an aggression on the Islamic religion and personal freedoms”.

In France, some Muslim leaders expressed fears of a backlash against the five million-strong Muslim community, western Europe’s biggest.

Read Another Article

Row over Sikh scripture clouds celebration plans
God Bless America

Related News Articles Topic(s): Islam Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Islam Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog