A French newspaper has reported on the establishment of a public foundation for the financing of Islamic mosques that has a Muslim Brotherhood leader as one of its future President. The new organization will be involved with the funding of mosque construction, mosque renovation, and the training of senior imams and chaplains. The report indicated that the organization already has 1 million euros at it s disposal which was raised in France and “abroad” from unspecified donors. The director of the foundation will be appointed by the Ministry of Interior while the President for two years is Dalil Boubakeur, the Rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, generally regarded as associated with the government of Algeria. In an attempt to reduce friction between the Grand Mosque and its arch rival the Union des organizations islamiques de France (UOIF), controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, the UOIF Vice-President Foud Alaoui was installed as President two years from now in a rotating system. The involvement of the French government in this financing mechanism would seem to be a break in the French government’s tradition of non-involvement with the funding of religious activities.
(Note: English translation available at France: ‘Islamic Foundation’ Will Bankroll New Mosques Report by Stephanie Le Bars: “Islamic Foundation Should Rationalize the Building of Mosques” Le Monde (Internet Version-WWW) Wednesday, October 17, 2007 T18:42:04Z Journal Code: 2165 Language: ENGLISH Record Type: FULLTEXT Document Type: OSC Translated Text)