France: Conference about "Immigration, Islamism: Is France Threatened?" Cancelled

The Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), the political party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was forced on Tuesday to cancel a public debate organized in its headquarters, amid concerns that the debate would spark new accusations of racism and discrimination.

Titled “Immigration, Islamism: Is France Threatened?,” the controversial debate did not come at a good time for UMP, which is now presenting a new bill on immigration in the Assemblee Nationale (National Assembly), the lower house of French bicameral Parliament.

“We have chosen this time to really participate in Parliament discussions on future immigration law, as they are starting this week and will be at full intensity on that day,” explained the Droite Libre (Free Right), the UMP-associated group that organized the meeting.

“These issues are a concern to our fellow citizens, yet they almost never have a chance to discuss them; those who dare to mention immigration and Islam are framed by the intellectual terror of ‘political correctness.’”

Source.

The members of La Droite Libre, on their blog, have protested against the cancellation, judging it as an attack against freedom of expression.

Our evening discussion "Immigration, Islam, Is France threatened?" was scheduled Sept. 30 at the National Assembly, after the refusal of the UMP. 

Wednesday 29 at night, much to our amazement, the President of the National Assembly, Bernard Accoyer, gave in to the CFCM (French Council of Muslim Faith) and decided to cancel this important meeting of the Free Right in place highly significant debates of the Republic. 

The event is serious indeed, this is the first time since the passing of the 1905 Act, that a religious organization supports the prohibition of a public political meeting in the grounds of national representation on the pretext that "Islam is branded". Our meeting, attended by politicians, experts and an imam, raised the issue of real or supposed links between religious extremism and Islamist immigration that, if true, would endanger the values of France. 

La Droite Libre solemnly requests the President of the National Assembly if he has thereby agreed to meet draconian requirements of a theocratic pressure group and if he considers as does the CFCM that Islamism is synonymous with Islam, something that is not supported by La Droite Libre. 

La Droite Libre, a movement that is positioned within the presidential majority and the movement of the UMP, remembers that Mr. Accoyer had already a few months ago, objected to the courageous act against the burqa and the full veil, supported by the UMP group in the Assembly and President Nicolas Sarkozy himself.

La Droite Libre demands to the majority party and Accoyer if some sort of theocratic censorship has indeed been restored in France under the pressure from Muslim organizations that claim to represent Muslims in France but they only represent themselves, their different currents and their country of reference. 

For the sake of tolerance, La Droite Libre had yet been careful not to stigmatize Muslims or Islam, choosing as the debate second term "Islamism", which, since the work political scientist Bruno Etienne, means the fringe of radical Islam and extremism and not Islam in general.

Prosecution mirror or slip? The CFCM, instead, protested because the reference to "Islamism", by his own statement, is related to Islam at all! 

With its statement, the CFCM has itslef acknowledged as Islamism. 

In fact, the CFCM relays the offensive in France of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference), which seeks to introduce, worldwide and within the UN since the 1990s, the "crime of blasphemy" by equating criticism of Islam with racism or "Islamophobia" and therefore criminally punishable. 

Incredible paradox, the OIC gives lessons about racism in the West, but it's an association of 57 Islamic countries that persecute their minorities evern in their homes and not only prohibits the proselytizing of other religions (even Morocco "tolerant" represented the CFCM forbidden for a Muslim to choose another religion), but the mere freedom of worship. 

La Droite Libre wonders if the goals of the repressive and obscurantist OIC are being met in the land of Voltaire .... 

By contrast, the courageous Imam of Drancy, Hassen Chalghoumi, who was going to be at the conference by La Droite Libre, is threatened with death by Islamists, courageously denounces Islamic extremists, does not cry persecution, does not ask cancel the debates, agrees to dialogue with secular and anticlerical people who do not agree with him. He has written a remarkable book in which he unequivocally defended the values of democracy and freedom of expression. 

La Droite Libre wonders whether the CFCM also wanted to silence this courageous Imam as he is very inconvenient for the liberticidal theocrats from the CFCM. 

Moreover, the fact that Mr. Moussaoui, president of the CFCM, has been awarded the Order of Merit of the City by the socialist municipality of Strasbourg, and the fact that Le Monde has triggered this controversy supporting the draconian pro-Islamists, confirm the sinister alliance between Red, Pink and Green. 

The lessons of recent days have led us to ask some friendly questions, with no concessions, to the majority of our friends:

• Is it acceptable that a leftist newspaper known for its biased reporters and a group of imams who are the opposite to freedom of expression, give lessons in morality and tolerance to the majority party and personalities who wish free debate in a pluralistic context? 

• Has democracy in modern times become the tyranny of minorities? 

• Should the French Right try to please the lobbies of the left, far-left activists and minorities who speak of racism to defend Islam, rather than citizens frustrated by the weaknesses of the Republic?

For its part, La Droite Libre denounces intellectual terrorism and political correctness and remember the words of the patriotic candidate Nicolas Sarkozy during the 2007 presidential campaign: "Stop repenting!". 

The UMP should stay the course and not be daunted by any tendentious article in Le Monde or communal lobbies whatsoever. Voters will take heed. The French are tired of false moral lessons and attacks trying to cause guilty consciences. 

Throughout the summer, the outrageous debates around the issue of Roma and insults against Nicolas Sarkozy accused of "racism" or "vichysme" shocked the French who claimed the vast majority of the lawful and reasonable measures proposed by the President and the majority. Our President and our Minister of the Interior were perfectly right in saying that "nobody is above the law", nor a religious group a minority or majority ethnic or cultural group. 

The law must be the same for everyone and democracy is not the reign of Virtuous Leagues but its only ruler is the popular vote. 

In the same spirit, freedom of expression must be exercised by everyone and it is unfortunate that some of our majority forgets. 

In any event, La Droite Libre will make every effort to exercise that freedom of expression, and thus reorder a new debate with the same themes, once a suitable location has been chosen.

(Translation: T&P).

Cross-posted from T&P.