French imams say Muslims should require a license to preach

French imams want Muslims to require a license to preach in a bid to crack down on extremist clerics. The body also called for an organisation of Muslims to be formed to fight jihadist propaganda.

Anouar Kbibech, president of the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM), said that imams should be issued a certificate like a driving license to prove that they taught a "tolerant and open Islam", AFP reported.

The announcement comes after Isis terrorists killed 130 people in a series of shootings and bomb attacks on 13 November.

The CFCM said that it would certify preachers if they demonstrated knowledge of Islam and adherence to French principles. Those who passed would be required to sign an "imams' charter" agreeing to respect the laws of the Republic.

"The time for action has come. The Muslims of France will play their part," Kbibech said.

He said the organisation would set up a religious council to challenge the arguments used by jihadists to radicalise French men and women, using theological knowledge.

On 20 November, Kbibech told France's BFMTV that a leaflet had been distributed to 2,500 mosques condemning violence and terrorism, and urging French Muslims to proclaim their adherence to the values of the French republic.

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that in the wake of the Paris attacks that he would begin the dissolution of mosques where hate was preached. France has deported 40 imams since 2012 for preaching extremist messages, with 15 in the wake of the January terror attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket in Paris.

Cazeneuve said the three month state of emergency that was declared after the attacks would allow authorities to crack down on extremist preachers.