French religious leaders protest debate on Islam

The top representatives of France's Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists published a joint statement Wednesday saying the debate could add "to the confusion in the troubled period we are traversing." Muslim leaders in France have said the debate will further stigmatize western Europe's largest Islamic population, estimated to number at least 5 million people.

The April 5 debate has divided Sarkozy's UMP party, with some seeing it as pandering to the resurgent far right National Front party. The National Front made electoral gains in local elections Sunday, while the UMP fared poorly.

The debate's backers say it's aimed at discussing France's secular traditions, and how to accommodate Islamic customs.

Amid the criticism, the UMP's plans have been repeatedly scaled back and the idea now is for a limited roundtable instead of a full-day debate.

"Do we need, in the current context, a debate on secularism?" the religious leaders' statement asks. "Is a political party, even if it is in the majority, the right entity to lead such a debate alone?" France has formally separated church and state since a 1905 law that the religious leaders praise as a "precious achievement" and "one of the pillars" of national accord; Kazinform cites Arab News.

See www.arabnews.com for full version