Accused of new anti-Semitism, French Muslims speak out


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PARIS (AP) — French Muslim leaders are rejecting suggestions that the Quran is to blame for resurgent anti-Semitism in France, and are urging imams and non-Muslims to work together to fight extremism.

Thirty mosque rectors and other prominent Muslims published an appeal in Le Monde saying Islam is being "confiscated by criminals."

They were responding to a manifesto signed by actor Gerard Depardieu, former President Nicolas Sarkozy and others blaming Islamic radicalism for a "new anti-Semitism." The manifesto urged Muslims to denounce anti-Jewish and anti-Christian references in the Quran as outdated.

The Muslim leaders acknowledged that some imams have fueled radicalism, and urged all imams to preach peace, notably online.

They also asked non-Muslim leaders, schools and police to "show more discernment" between Islamic extremists who have attacked France in recent years and Islam itself.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Religion stories

Related topics

Religion
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast