Boussouf Warns of Extremist Discourse Dangers on the Youth and Pressure Surrounding Imams Training in Europe

Abdallah Boussouf, Secretary General of the Council of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad (CCME), exposed the reality of religious framing abroad, when he emphasized that most imams in Europe do not undergo a religious training and rely solely on their own efforts. As for those who did undergo religious training, they either lack the sociological dimension associated with the culture and civilization of European societies, or are not fluent in European languages.

Boussouf believes that the problems raised in this regard make them unable to provide adequate answers to the Muslim youth, which pushes them to look for answers elsewhere such as the Internet, leading them to become “saturated” with extremist discourse that rejects the other and refuses coexistence. This sadly and gradually becomes acceptable among young Muslims, pushing some of them to fall in the bosom of terrorism.

In this context, Boussouf mentioned that working on the legal status of Islam in Europe constitutes the beginning of thinking about this issue, as it has been shown that the constitutions and laws of European countries, regardless of their differences in stipulating secularism in its various forms, do not include any objection to any sort of engagement in Islamic practices in these societies, since the matter falls within the framework of freedom of belief. However, reality might sometimes prove otherwise, which is usually due to political, cultural or ideological factors.