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Bouziane can now return back to France
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By
Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent
PARIS,
April 27 (IslamOnline.net) - A French court quashed Monday, April 26,
a government decision to deport an Imam to his native Algeria for
statements seen by the secular country as violence-inciting.
"The
ruling has done justice to Imam Abdelkader Bouziane, given the
expulsion was neither convincing nor justifiable," his lawyer
Mahmmoud Hibia told IslamOnline.net.
"Now
Bouziane can return back to France at any time to reunite with his
family and sons."
Family
sources told IOL they have not heard of Bouziane, who had lived in
France for 25 years on a renewable residency permit, since he arrived
in Algeria following his deportation.
Interior
Minister Dominique de Villepin ordered the deportation of Bouziane,
imam of a mosque in the eastern city of Lyon, after press statements
that Muslim husbands can beat their unfaithful wives.
"Religion
says that the husband could beat his wife in case of her betrayal. But
the law prevents me from saying so in my sermons. I always tell
worshippers that we are living in a state and should abide by its
laws," the imam had told the French Lyon Mag magazine.
The
word "beating" of wives is used in a verse of the Qur'an,
but scholars maintain it does
not mean "physical abuse" .
In
Islam, marriage is not merely a financial and physical arrangement of
living together but a
sacred contract, a gift of God , to lead a happy, enjoyable
life.
Bouziane
had condemned in the interview the terrorist operations against
civilians in the name of religion, when asked about his position on the
Madrid blasts , which claimed the lives of up to 190 people.
"Islam
prohibits planting bombs in the name of God to kill innocent
people," he stressed.
De
Villepin said he will appeal the verdict before the State Council, the
highest administrative court, defending his decision as legal.
The
court had disregarded classified documents submitted by the interior
ministry allegedly linking Bouziane to extremist groups.
No
Comment
The
French Council of the Muslim Faith (FCMF) declined to comment on the
court verdict.
"We
don’t want to comment on a court ruling on an issue overstated by
media and represents no priority for us," a FCMF official told
IOL.
Bouziane’s
remarks drew
fire from Muslim leader in the western European
country.
FCMF
President Dalil Boubakeur had said following the deportation of the
Algerian imam that Islam was not a religion supporting the beating of
women, killing of children or the destruction of the West.
He
said whoever defends such ideas "is not worthy of being an
imam," adding that that the qualification of imams came high on
the council’s agenda.
The
head of the National Federation of French Muslims, Mohammad Bechari,
also said that an imam like Bouziane should be sacked.
