President Emmanuel Macron praised French Muslim leaders on Monday after they agreed on a "charter of principles" aimed at combatting sectarianism and radicalised teachings blamed for a surge in jihadist attacks in France in recent years, reports FRANCE 24.
The charter offers "a clarification of how the Muslim community is organised," Macron said after a meeting with representatives of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), his office said.
It will also provide a framework for a new National Council of Imams that will be responsible for vetting imams practicing in the country.
"This is a clear, decisive and precise commitment in favour of the republic," Macron said, hailing "a truly foundational text for relations between the state and Islam in France".
Macron had urged the council to act against "political Islam" in November after the killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded outside his school after showing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed as part of a free-speech lesson.
The attack prompted a crackdown against extremist mosques and Muslim associations, along with a vigorous defence of French secularism that is seen as increasingly under threat from radicalised Islamic teachings.
The new 10-point charter "states clearly that the principles of the Muslim faith are perfectly compatible with the principles of the republic," CFCM president Mohammed Moussaoui told journalists after the meeting.
The accord was hammered out Saturday during a meeting with interior minister Gérald Darmanin after weeks of resistance from some CFCM members who objected to a "restructuring" of Islam to make it compatible with French law and values.
Moussaoui said all eight of the CFCM's federations, representing various strands of Islam, approved the charter, but three had yet to sign the accord because "they need a bit more time to explain what it means to their followers," an Elysée official said.