Threatened with expulsion, Islamist theologian Ahmed Jaballah leaves France and joins Tunisia

A Tunisian theologian, Ahmed Jaballah, under threat of an expulsion decision from the government, left French territory on his own initiative, according to the Ministry of the Interior interviewed on Saturday March 2 by AFP, confirming information from Europe 1.

Dean of the European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH) in Paris Saint-Ouen, the former president of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France (UOIF, now Muslims of France), from the Muslim Brotherhood, was the subject since January 30 of an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). The Muslim Brotherhood organization originated in Egypt, where it is considered “terrorist”.

Public order disturbances

The Val-d’Oise prefecture accuses Ahmed Jaballah of his irregular situation in France and of disturbances to public order. According to Europe 1, the French authorities have also decided to take an administrative ban on the territory so that he cannot return to France. Contacted by AFP, Ahmed Jaballah could not be immediately reached.

The Bobigny public prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation in 2020 into “the methods of financing activities” of the IESH, a private higher establishment responsible, in particular, for training imams. The departure of Ahmed Jaballah for Tunisia comes a week after the expulsion of an imam from Bagnols-sur-Cèze (Gard), Mahjoub Mahjoubi.

Having lived in France since the mid-1980s, he was in the crosshairs of Gérald Darmanin, who a few days before his expulsion had requested the withdrawal of his residence permit, accusing him of calls for hatred targeting women and the Jews during his sermons.

The imam evokes a “slip of the tongue”

The Minister of the Interior also criticized him for broadcasting a video in which he described the ” tricolour flag “ – without specifying whether it was the French flag – “satanic flag” who would not have “no value with Allah” (God in Arabic).

The imam defended himself by evoking a “slip of the tongue”explaining that he was in reality denouncing the rivalries between supporters of Maghreb countries during the recent African Cup of Nations (CAN) football.