“Friday prayers should be said in two languages”
Mohamed Bechari (President of the FNMF) talks to Marco Cesario 10 February 2009

How are Imams trained in France?

In France education for Imams is diversified. Some Imams are trained abroad within the framework of ELCO (Enseignement de langue et culture d’origine), and of these about 120 come from Algeria, 60 from Turkey and about ten from Morocco. Then there are those called preachers, mainly financed by other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya or Egypt, and these number no more than twenty in the whole country. Most of the imams are those who in Arabic are known as “taleb”, often men who formerly worked in factories and experienced the call to the religious work of being imams. Of these about 45% are Moroccan, 25% Algerian, 13% are Turkish, and 8% are French. Among the French there are generally students, or former Moroccan or Algerian students who became imams after completing their education.

When did the idea of educating imams emerge in France?

Most imams are self-appointed imams since there is no official school for their education. The idea of a French Islam with French education/training for imams first appeared between the end of the Eighties and the early Nineties, when France was addressing the problem of the veil and a diversified Islam. It was necessary to create a French Islam, and so the Muslim community decided to organise training centres, among these, for example, is the one at the Grand Mosque in Paris or the Avicenna Institute of Human Sciences in Lille. These centre do not only train Imams, but generally all religious personnel working on contextualising the holy scriptures, allowing all Muslims to pray and practise their religion in their own French language. Above all this became necessary with the second and third generations who no longer speak Arabic but French.

So the principles of Islam and of the Koran can be taught in a language other than Arabic?

At the Avicenna Institute, for example, the entire programme and all lessons are held in French. We are the only Muslim Institute in France recognised by Bill 1815, which addresses free private high school education with all courses taught one hundred percent in French. This does not mean that institutes teaching in Arabic are outside French Islam. Ours is simply a choice that is suitable for the times and the situation in France.

In Italy there has been a controversy following statement by the president of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini, who said that imams must preach in Italian. What is your opinion on this subject?

It really is a debate, but the situation in Italy differs from the one in France. Italy is attempting to consolidate its relationship with Islam. With recent immigration Italy now has about one million Muslims, and is obliged to reflect on how to create places of worship. The French example is not a good one for Italy because the situation there is different. The Islamic community in Italy is very diversified and not mostly Arabic or from the Maghreb area as in France. In Italy there are Albanian and Turkish Muslim communities, so a solution suited to the country must be found. As far as preaching in a European or non-Arabic language is concerned, this is a theological debate already taking place among Muslims. Arab Islam is a minority compared to non-Arab Islam. Out of the about 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, not even 350 million are Arabs. In India or in Indonesia there are hundreds of millions of Muslims who do not speak Arabic. Arabic is a minority language within the Muslim world.

Do you mean that imams can preach in a language that is not Arabic?

This is simply a theological issue, not a political one. We have reached a consensus. The Church itself has held such debates. Should one preach in the European languages or in those of the holy scriptures (Latin and Greek)? We have found an intermediate solution. Seeing that the Friday sermon takes place at two different moments, we decided that the first would be in Arabic, which is the holy language of the Koran, but the second prayer moment must take place in the local language (therefore in Italian, French or Spanish), hence in the language known and understood by the local communities. I am convinced that one must practice and teach Islam using local languages. Second and third generation Muslims do not even speak Arabic. Furthermore, the Arabic used in religious functions is classical Arabic and let me tell you that not even 10% of Muslims understand this language. I am in favour of using two languages during the same prayer meeting.

Could you provide me with a few examples of Friday sermons expressed in more than one language?

Of course. In Malmo, Sweden, I attended Friday prayers with the Imam preaching in four languages. A little Arabic, a little Swedish, Serb-Croatian and Albanian. The point of the Friday sermon is to provide a message. If the message is expressed in an incomprehensible language then the objective of the Friday sermon is not achieved.

Is it possible to apply the French secular system to other countries such as Italy?

The French secular system cannot be applied outside France, above all because it is not a good system. Other countries are experiencing the path to “secularisation”, while France is alone on its route to “laicization.” France itself is trying to change its strictly secular model and behaviour. On December 8th 2008, for example, the French Foreign Minister signed a concordat with the Vatican regarding the teaching of the Catholic religion and various levels of education such as degrees, masters degrees and doctorates. We are in favour of positive laicity, or as the Pope said, open laicity; laicity that must not become society’s new religion. Laicity must not turn into atheism’s battle against the religious sphere or have anti-religious aspects. Laicity must involve coexistence, harmony, peace and working together for the good of humankind. The separation between temporal and spiritual power does not mean denying spirituality and the religious sphere, nor must it become an anti-religious witch-hunt. France has experienced terrible times in its relations with religion. History’s legacy must not dictate French laws and political provisions. France today remains alone in its obstante secularist march, faced with a multicultural and multidenominational Europe. Politics and legislation must be secular; society need not be.

Translated by Francesca Simmons

http://www.marcocesario.it

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