BY ANADOLU AGENCY
(DAILY SABAH) An imam of a mosque in France’s Loire region was fired after verses and hadiths he recited during his Eid al-Adha prayer sermon were considered “contrary to the values of the Republic” by Interior Minister Gerald Darmain.
Mmadi Ahamada, the imam of the Great Mosque of Saint-Chamond, who is of Comoros origin, shared a hadith and Surah Ahzab verses addressing the wives of the Prophet Muhammad in his sermon.
After Isabelle Surply, a member of the Municipal Council of the Republican Party, shared a video of the sermon online, Darmanin asked the Loire Governor’s Office to dismiss the imam and ensure that his residence permit is not renewed, on the grounds that “he finds these statements unacceptable” and “sees them against gender equality.”
Speaking to the Le Progres website, Ahamada said some of the statements and verses in the sermon were taken and used out of context.
“Our girls do not have to stay at home; they become doctors, engineers or pilots,” he added.
In a message on social media, the mosque administration announced that the imam had been dismissed.
The Loire Governorate said that they are working on not renewing the imam’s residence permit.