In an effort to stop extremism, the French government is trying to attain
more influence over how mosques are run in the country.
Two centuries after separating church and state, France wants to bring together mosque and state. Prime Minister Manuel Valls teamed up with 41 French Muslim citizens to create a national drive to promote “mainstream Islam,” a vague term to denote a version of the religion that is decidedly not Wahhabi, the conservative school of thought from Saudi Arabia. Conservatives aren’t happy but neither are some on the left who feel squeamish about France delving into hermeneutics.
