Paris: In an attempt to fight radicalisation, an influential French Islamic group has suggested a tax on halal food to fund mosques in the country.
According to reports, the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) mooted the idea in an attempt to reduce the dependence on foreign funding, and has received overwhelming support from the country’s political class.
The idea comes after the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called for a complete ban on foreign funding for mosques amidst concerns of growing radicalisation. Much of the current funds to run the mosques in France comes form Morocco, Algeria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as they are not eligible for state funds.
The money collected by taxing halal products will be used to pay the salaries of imams and in building and maintaining mosques.
Claiming that the idea has existed ever since the founding of the CFCM, Anouar Kbibech, the president of the organisation, said, “We have reached the first step with the signing with of a religious framework in the CFCM’s halal charter, which defines the criteria of halal in France. In autumn we will discuss the second part, which is the financial contribution of halal organisations to worship.”
But there are many who raise questions on the feasibility of such a tax.
Pointing out that it would be legally impossible to alter the tax of any particular religious item, Nathalie Goulet, a French senator who conducted a report on the issue, said, “Technically, a ‘halal tax’ would be impossible to implement because there is no unity around the concept of halal.”
