Nicolas Sarkozy is proving himself to be just as "pragmatic" an ass-kisser as all other politicians. From Reuters Newswire:
PARIS - President Nicolas Sarkozy's increasingly frequent and positive references to God and faith have drawn fire from critics who accuse him of violating France's separation of church and state.
Sarkozy, a taboo-breaker whose whirlwind love life has distracted the media for weeks, broke with traditional presidential reserve about religion to stress France's Christian roots in a speech in a Rome basilica just before Christmas.
In Riyadh on Monday, he hailed Islam as "one of the greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has known" and described his Saudi hosts as rulers who "appeal to the basic values of Islam to combat the fundamentalism that negates them".
His praise for a kingdom that enforces and propagates a strict version of Islam, during a visit aimed at securing lucrative export contracts, was the last straw for his critics.
"This is not respect for the separation of church and state," Socialist opposition leader Francois Hollande said.
"This is an ideological stand that makes religion into an instrument to promote French products civilian nuclear plants for Muslim countries," he said. "Mixing religion and foreign policy is illogical and wrong."
7 comments:
Is Sarkozy's honey a leftist? I think that I read that somewhere.
Or maybe she's an Islamophile.
It is difficult to find words to say about this stupidity. As the weeks go by, Sarkozy is proving himself to be ever more disappointing.
His affair with Carla Bruni has not endeared him to many. Now this!
With Islam so strong in France, and growing ever stronger, he would do well to re-enforce France's strict separation of Church and state; otherwise the growing Muslim population will be jumping on the bandwagon and claiming their share and rights.
I should add, however, that I thought his emphasis on France's "Christian roots" was laudable. This is something which the French have been in denial about for a long time now.
Tu can play at taqiyya.
Mark,
I agree that his defense of France's Christian roots was great. When is the last time a French leader has articulated such a foundational idea?
I think she is, and I think he is as well. HOwever, he is, obviously, much more conservative than most French politicians.
PA,
That's a good point. I think it is taqiyya, but it is a taqiyya which will lull the French to sleep.
Who does it hurt more? Muslims, or the French themselves?
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