PARIS, May 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – The French Minister of Interior Nicholas Sarcozi met with Daleel Bobakour, the Grand Mosque Imam in the French capital, a French newspaper reported Tuesday, May 28. 

The daily French newspaper, Le Figaro, said the meeting, held Monday, May 27, was the first in a series of meetings that is expected between Sacrozi and Muslim leaders in France during the next period. 

The meeting will deal mainly with the establishment of the French Muslim Council, which will serve as an official authority to express the points of view of Muslims in various French cities and through which the government will be able to deal with Muslims. 

The paper said that the meetings will also focus on trying to co-ordinate with the moderate Muslims in France who belong to various nationalities and especially Algeria and Morocco in order to allow them to acquire the majority seats in this council. 

The paper said the French officials felt it important to support the moderate Islamic stream to counteract what they described as ‘fundamentalists’ elements in the Islamic Organizations Union in France. 

On April 10, French president Jacque Chirac visited the Grand Mosque as part of his presidential campaign and also met with the representatives of the new Muslim wave in France such as Bobakour and Suhaib Bin Sheikh, the mufti of Marcielles and Kamel Captain, the imam of the mosque in Leon. 

The French writer Astredo De Larmena said that the French government prefers to have most of the members of the council from French Muslims of Algerian origin, in an attempt to mitigate the severe criticisms of the grave breaches of human rights committed by French Generals during the colonial era in Algeria. 

Rashid Al-Qassi, one of the Muslim leaders, said that the French right is proposing the idea of merging the Muslim community inside the French society and that is evident from their insistence to set up this council. 

“We ask that this council not be interested only with religious rights, but must also provide jobs for the children of the immigrants to improve their living conditions,” he said.

The children of the Muslim community stressed the importance of discussing their problems. 

Qader, an Algerian living in France, said that both the right and left wings in France need to realize that the children of the Muslim community work as much as the French and will not give up their rights on getting a decent home and good places for the children as well as a job and a stable salary. 

“I sometimes feel that my Arab nationality is a crime,” said Camelia. “I remember my French teacher asked me not to say that I am an Arab so that I get a decent job which suits my qualifications which he felt were high.” 

She added that the real concern of the French right must be demonstrated by show of respect of other cultures and religions.