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    In a corner of France, a pro-church law helps a mosque Published: October 7, 2008 Text Size : The Alsace-Moselle region is the great French exception. Having been variously French and German in the last few centuries — annexed, presumably for the last time, by Hitler's Germany before returning to France after World War II — Alsace-Moselle still has a German feel, with rounded edges. While France is a model for the centralized state, Alsace-Moselle is different, especially on the question of politics and religion. Because the region was German in 1905, when France passed major legislation separating church and state — a policy known as laïcité, usually translated as secularism — the local government continues to involve itself in the established religions, providing a wide variety of subsidies and even religious education in the public schools. Extraordinarily for secular France, here the state not only helps to finance the construction of places of worship but also approves the appointments of clergy members and even pays their salaries. But not for Islam. Muslims are now the second largest religious group in this region of 2.9 million people, and there is considerable debate about whether and how to extend to Islam the support given to other religions. The questions vary from Muslim education in the public schools to the size of a new mosque partially built along the banks of the Ill River, and even whether the mosque should be allowed to have a minaret. Some believe that in the odd historical exception of Alsace, the heart of the area once known as Alsace-Lorraine, there may be lessons for how to better integrate Muslims into France, the country in Europe with the largest number of both Muslims and Jews. Today in Europe "Muslims today represent the second religion of France, as well as of Alsace-Moselle," said François Grosdidier, a center-right legislator and mayor of Woippy, a town in the region where a third of the 15,000 inhabitants are Muslim. "I don't think the current situation can last in our country; it's not sustainable," he said. "The exclusion of the Muslims encourages them to build their mosques in basements and to seek foreign support." Fouad Douai, who is in charge of trying to build Strasbourg's Grand Mosque, said Muslims here wanted the same rights as the other main religions — especially Islamic religious education in the schools and the chance to establish a theological faculty to train clerics, all in the context of a democratic, secular France. "There's great hypocrisy in French politics," Douai said. "People don't name things as they are. Every time they see a swarthy skin or a Muslim name, you're oppressed." Still, he said, Alsace "is a model for interreligious dialogue, which is much stronger here than in the rest of France," noting that the heads of the four established religions — Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism and Judaism — signed a 1998 letter supporting the construction of the new mosque, which is getting some public funds, unlike the case in the rest of France. Of course, given its tortured history, nothing is simple here. The power and wealth of the Roman Catholic Church had been a major target of the French Revolution. In 1801, Napoleon imposed on the Vatican the Concordat, a treaty that regulated the practice of Roman Catholicism, giving the state approval over ecclesiastical appointments and responsibility for paying salaries to clergy members, who had to swear allegiance to France. The Concordat was later extended to the Protestants and the Jews. Then in 1905, France abrogated the Concordat and other laws governing religious education and legislated secularism, establishing state neutrality toward religions and ending financing for them. (France does, however, consider places of worship built before 1905 as "cultural" edifices, and heavily subsidizes their maintenance.) In 1905, though, Alsace-Moselle was German, and the Germans retained the Concordat. After World War I, France decided to do the same, not applying the 1905 law here. Hitler later annexed the region and abrogated the Concordat, but after World War II, when French sovereignty was restored to Alsace-Moselle, France also restored the Concordat here. If in the rest of France, the church is seen "as an obstacle to the formation of the republican state," said Jean-Marie Woehrling, a legal expert, "here the church is seen as part of the regional identity of Alsace and a protection against the Germans." But the Muslims and their mosques are a post-1905 phenomenon in France, and there is nervousness about terrorism and confusion about Islam. The current mayor, Roland Ries, a Socialist, helped start the new mosque, designed by the Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi, in 1998, but paid a political price. 1 | > Latest News Luke MacGregor/Reuters Britain on Wednesday announced a massive bailout for its beleaguered banks, which have had their capital badly depleted by bad investments. In Opinion: More Headlines Video The IHT's managing editor, Alison Smale, discusses European reactions to the Biden-Palin faceoff. The IHT's managing editor, Alison Smale, discusses international reactions to the first Obama-McCain debate. The oldest secondary school for Muslims in France is struggling for funding and may soon be forced to close. The IHT's managing editor, Alison Smale, discusses the week in world news. The IHT's managing editor, Alison Smale, discusses the week in world news. The IHT's managing editor, Alison Smale, discusses the week in world news. Jean-Claude Trichet, governor of the European Central Bank, explains the decision to hold borrowing costs unch... The IHT's managing editor discusses European reactions to the U.S. election as the Democratic convention begin... Journalists entered the closed region between Georgia and South Ossetia where there appear to have been ethnic... The IHT's managing editor, Alison Smale, discusses the week in world news. | | 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. More from Style: Contact iht.com or News: | | | | | | Features: | | | | | | Business: | | | | | | Opinion: | | Classifieds: | | Company Info: | | | Newspaper: | | Other Formats: | | | | | | | | More: | | | Subscriptions | | | | | | Copyright © 2008 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved