French President Francois Hollande showed his insolent face again to Islam and all Muslims on the 28th of January 2016, by refusing his guest Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s request for a halal meal without wine during a scheduled dinner engagement for a State visit on a five-day visit to Europe following the lifting of years of sanctions against Iran. This is not the first time that France has refused to serve halal food or remove wine from the menu for visiting Muslim leaders, and President Rouhani’s prior visit to France on the 17th November 2015, was met with the same insult. His rude host insisted that French customs should prevail at the meal table. About President Rouhani’s visit and his rude reception, we make the following observations.
- Since the French revolution and the formation of a republic based upon radical secularism, France has behaved with insolence and arrogance towards Muslims. It colonized Muslim countries and slaughtered millions to impose its rule, language and culture and the colonization continues to this day. Hatred towards Islam and Muslims is deeply rooted in France, where radical secularism prevails and where Muslim values and practices are considered a dangerous threat. The halal meal was cancelled by the President of the French Republic because faith-based meals are against France’s republican values.
- In France, Muslims are exposed to suppression and repression and are attacked over their food, clothes and prayers. Any place where alcohol is widespread leads to bad manners and behaviors, in France Muslim girls are denied education for their obedience to the command of Allah سبحانه وتعالى to wear the hijab, and violence against mosques and mosque closures in the name of fighting extremism have meant that Friday prayers must be conducted in the streets for Muslim men. French politicians regularly spew vile words of hate against Muslims, and during the Jewish entity’s bombing of Gaza, a deputy Mayor, Jacques Renaud, tweeted about the image of the mutilated body of a Palestinian child that “It’s Halal meat, I suppose”.
- President Rouhani’s refusal to have dinner without halal food was merely a personal statement, and he lost a golden opportunity to speak-up for oppressed Muslims in France by continuing with his visit, even after receiving the same insult twice! For President Rouhani, the loss of a single meal for each visit to France is no big thing at a personal level, but what of the Muslim children in French schools being pressured to eat pork or the Muslim inmates of French prisons who are going hungry because French courts have ruled in support of bans against halal food?
- Did President Rouhani gain anything for the development of Iran, by accepting humiliation during two groveling visits to France? Actually there was a small deal with French oil company ‘Total’ to supply 200,000 barrels per day of cheap oil and a larger deal worth 22 billion Euros to buy 118 Airbus planes. These deals are one-sided as they amount to exporting raw resources cheaply and importing expensive manufactured products that will tie-down Iran for many years that will force it to depend on French companies for spare-parts and maintenance of the planes Iran will receive.
- It is sad to see that while the relationships between Iran and neighboring countries are being defined by ever worsening bloody sectarian violence, which Iran’s leadership bears great responsibility for, at the same time we see Iran’s leaders are throwing themselves into the arms of those most hateful of Islam and Muslims. Particularly shocking are the hypocritical statements by the French and Iranian presidents during the visit about their shared-interest in combating terrorism! Iran’s Tehran Times said nothing of the French insults against President Rouhani and instead used fawning language in its coverage on the 29th of January about the visit: “Speaking at a joint press conference with Hollande following talks, Rouhani said Iran and France must share intelligence in the fight against “fanaticism, terrorism and extremism.” How amazing that both countries could say such things when both are engaging in the organized state terrorism on the land of ash-Sham, and at a time when French fanaticism and extremism is growing daily against Muslims in France?!
O Muslims,
The disbelievers (Kuffar) have grown bolder due to the weakness and treachery of your rulers, who rush to embrace friendship with the self-serving companies and vengeful leaders of the enemies of Islam in defiance of the commands of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. The Almighty All-Knowing said,
لَا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً ۗ وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ ۗ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ
“Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever [of you] does that has nothing with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in prudence. And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the [final] destination.”
(Aal-i Imraan: 28)
The vengeful leaders attack you in the name of secularism and democracy; and they have moved their battle cry against you from “fighting terrorism” to “fighting extremism,” even though their own extremism has gone far beyond the boundaries of reason and etiquette and their support for terror over air, land and sea has brought death and destruction that has driven millions from their homes in Syria to European countries that despise them. They even fight you directly over your religion in all matters including beliefs, food and clothing and they will never be satisfied with you until they have turned you back from Islam. Allah سبحانه وتعالى said,
وَلَا يَزَالُونَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَنْ دِينِكُمْ إِنِ اسْتَطَاعُوا ۚ وَمَنْ يَرْتَدِدْ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ فَيَمُتْ وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ فَأُولَٰئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
“And they will continue to fight you until they turn you back from your religion if they are able. And whoever of you reverts from his religion [to disbelief] and dies while he is a disbeliever – for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and those are the companions of the Fire, they will abide therein eternally.”
(Al Baqarah: 217)
So you must hold fast to the rope of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and do not be deceived by the rulers who seek to drive you deeper into the clutches of those who work evil plots against you. They call you to their side with fear of poverty and fear even of each other, but they are the ones who fear the return of Islam and the end of their benefits under the tyranny of secularism’s drunken deceits.
The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
Saturday, 27th Rabii’ Il 1437 AH
06/02/2016 CE
Issue No: 1437 AH / 025