Kamel Abderrahmai

With the transformation of the Christian basilica into a mosque, "Erdogan, this 21st century Caliph, has secured the support of a religious and fundamentalist electorate nostalgic of the Ottoman era". "A clear new message from political Islam to the West: dominate and subjugate, always and at all times!". The western world does not seem to understand provocation. A system of lighting and veils to hide Christian mosaics and frescoes. "Whenever Islamism comes to power in a democratic and secular state, it declares war on civilizations, cultures and other religions."

The director of religious affairs in Bejaïa paid tribute to the famous Amazigh (Berber) singer Idir. For this reason, he was attacked by extremist Islamist leaders and groups. Leading political, cultural, religious and NGO figures have expressed their solidarity towards him. Under the sway of religious extremists, Algerian authorities are indifferent to individual freedoms.

Handing out copies of the holy book and using loudspeakers to read passages from it are supposed to help fight the coronavirus. In reality, by giving the current health crisis an apocalyptic character, those in power are using religion to stay in power.

At first radical Muslims claimed that the epidemic was a sign of Allah's anger and punishment. Now they claim the virus is a test of faith. If “such characters, such obscurantists with dark ideas, intervene and interfere in such sensitive issues with impunity it is because the state does not do its duty, that of protecting people.”

Kamel Abderrahmani looks at the pressures put on those who criticise the ideologies that rule the Muslim world. In Islamic countries, “legal jihad” goes after intellectuals, researchers and even scholars of Islam who dare take a critical look at the religion.

Kamel Abderrahmani, a young scholar, remembers the renowned reformist expert of Islam Muhammad Shahrur, who proposed new interpretations of the Qurʼān, based on a scientific and very original method of analysis. His works were banned in some countries, like Saudi Arabia and Iran. “His approach was clear: reform Islam in depth, give it legibility and above all restore its humanist coherence.”

Baghdad wants to hang eleven French and one Tunisian nationals. Their fate has sparked a debate. Paris has confirmed that it has taken steps to prevent the sentence from being implemented. French lawyers have signed an appeal against their execution. One young Muslim wonders: "Are those who willfully burnt their French passports worthy of being or "becoming French again"?