Nahyan Bin Mubarak graces Bastille Day event
The event, held at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, was attended by Noura AlKaabi, Minister of State, members of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps accredited to the UAE and several members of the French community in the country.
In a speech on this occasion, the French Ambassador praised the depth of the distinguished historical and strategic relations between the French Republic and the United Arab Emirates, and the development they have witnessed in recent years.
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During the visit, Chalghoumi told the Israeli president that 'the war that broke out after 7 October is not a war between Israel and Hamas or Israel and Hezbollah but a war between two worlds. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "You represent the world of humanity and democracy.' In a video widely circulated on social media, the imam could also be seen attempting to kiss the hand of the Israeli interior minister, Moshe Arbel, who promptly removed his hand. The gesture and the overall visit sparked an outcry in Tunisia, a country that refuses any form of normalisation with Israel. A local watchdog, the Tunisian Observatory for Transparency and Good Governance, announced in a statement over the weekend that it was filing a complaint against Chalghoumi for 'high treason'. "The actions of the Tunisian national, who led a group of European imams (on a visit to Israel) to express their solidarity and condemn the spirit of resistance are a disgrace and undermine the prestige of the Tunisian state," the watchdog said in a statement. "The explicit normalisation issued by this individual does not represent or honour the Tunisian people and state, in all its components, as his positions on the Palestinian cause are known to all. "Chalghoumi's statements constitute direct incitement against resistance to the occupying entity's aggression […] and a call for blatant and public normalisation with the occupying entity," it added. Senior Saudi journalist urges 'coexistence' in landmark visit to Israeli parliament Read More » The Observatory emphasised the need to initiate legal proceedings before military courts 'against anyone involved in espionage activities with foreign countries or in normalisation with the Zionist entity'. It also demanded that Chalghoumi be stripped of his Tunisian nationality. The visit sparked negative reactions elsewhere in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam, strongly condemned it as a 'betrayal of religious and human values'. In a statement, the Cairo-based institution said the participants 'falsely claimed their visit aimed to promote coexistence and interfaith dialogue, while blatantly ignoring the ongoing genocide, aggression and ongoing massacres against the Palestinian people for over 20 months'. The European Council of Imams in Paris also issued a strong condemnation, calling the visit 'suspicious' and asserting that it 'does not represent the position of Muslims in Europe'. Meanwhile, a mosque in the Dutch city of Alkmaar fired its imam after he participated in the trip. The Bilal Mosque said that Imam Youssef Msibih was 'immediately removed' from his position. 'The continuity of colonial practices' A media personality in France who has for years advocated 'moderate Islam' and rapprochement between faiths, Chalghoumi is a controversial figure within the Muslim community, notably due to his commitment to normalisation with Israel. On his social media account, Chalghoumi frequently posts against "Islamism" and warns about the alleged "infiltration and destabilising" goals of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Last month, the imam sparked outrage after dancing at an event in Paris organised in support of Israel and Israeli captives. Outrage after French imam danced at 'Israeli music festival' in Paris Read More » During We Will Dance Again, an Israeli music festival that took place on 22 June, Chalghoumi was spotted dancing on a stage surrounded by Israeli flags. The event was organised by TheTruth, an association founded to challenge 'disinformation, denigration of Israel, antisemitism, political Islam', according to its social media accounts. Chalghoumi's participation in the festival amid Israel's assault on Gaza and its attack on Iran caused heated reactions online, with users accusing the imam of 'celebrating genocide'. For French political scientist François Burgat, a renowned specialist on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and political Islam, the 'fabrication' of Imam Chalghoumi as a 'character' is 'a persistent deception' that undermines the 'representation of Muslims in France'. 'The character of Imam Chalghoumi is the expression of the continuity of colonial practices in contemporary France. 'It was not the French authorities who directly initiated this gross manipulation, but rather Franco-Israeli Zionist circles' -François Burgat, specialist in political Islam "Chalghoumi appears, in fact, as the direct descendant, the exact reproduction of these false Muslim elites fabricated from scratch in Algeria by the colonial authorities to pervert the representation of dominated populations,' Burgat wrote. 'In Chalghoumi's case, however, it was not the French authorities who directly initiated this gross manipulation, but rather Franco-Israeli Zionist circles who, with the obvious consent of [the authorities], literally fabricated his character, placing him at the head of an 'Association of Imams of France' created especially for him,' the academic added. 'This persistent deception thus represents one of the most serious attacks on the mechanisms for representing Muslims in France.'
