French PM Manuel Valls emphasized that there was no link between Islam and extremism, as he opened a conference aimed at making better ties with France’s large Muslim community.
“We must say all of this is not Islam,” said Valls.
The terrorist attack in Paris which killed 17 people five months back made the government to hold a series of meetings with top officials from more or less five million-strong Muslim community, the largest in Europe.
120-150 Muslim community leaders as well as top government officials and ministers attended the forum and discussed the image of Islam in the media, security at religious sites and the building of new mosques.
There are about 2,500 mosques in France, with another 300 projects in full swing, however constructing new Muslim places of worship has sometimes provoked violent opposition from local residents.
“Today the situation calls for renewed attention from public powers. This forum is an opportunity for us to express our discomfort with being lumped together” with Islamists, said Dalil Boubakeur, president of the French
Muslim Council (CFCM).
Those accountable for jihadist attacks “belong to a different world than we do”, he added.
The French PM aimed to strike a different note, telling the forum that Islam is part of French society.
“Islam still provokes misunderstandings, prejudices, and is rejected by some citizens,” the prime minister said.
“Yet Islam is here to stay in France. It’s the second largest religious group in our country.”