DAR AL HARB - FRANCE: DEPORTING IMAMS COULD ALIENATE 'COMMUNITIES'

France warned on deporting imams
By Kwan Yuk Pan

France's policy of deporting radical Muslim clerics could risk further alienation among the country's Muslim community, Human Rights Watch warned in a report released yesterday. The group said the forced removal of long-term residents and Muslim religious leaders suspected of extremism could prove to be counterproductive and alienates communities whose co-operation is vital to the fight against terrorism. Since 2001, France has expelled 71 individuals, 15 of whom were imams, according to figures from HRW.



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1) France warned on deporting imams