Macron hails French Muslim charter against extremism

President Emmanuel Macron has praised French Muslim leaders after they agreed on a "charter of principles" aimed at combatting sectarianism and radicalised teachings blamed for a surge in jihadist attacks in France in recent years.

The charter offers "a clarification of how the Muslim community is organised," Macron said after a meeting with representatives of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), his office said.

It will also provide a framework for a new National Council of Imams that will be responsible for vetting imams practising in the country.

"This is a clear, decisive and precise commitment in favour of the republic," Macron said, hailing "a truly foundational text for relations between the state and Islam in France."

Macron had urged the council to act against "political Islam" in November after the killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded outside his school after showing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed as part of a free-speech lesson.

The attack prompted a crackdown against extremist mosques and Islamist associations, along with a vigorous defence of French secularism.

The new 10-point charter "states clearly that the principles of the Muslim faith are perfectly compatible with the principles of the republic," CFCM president Mohammed Moussaoui told journalists after the meeting.

The accord was hammered out Saturday after weeks of resistance from some CFCM members who objected to a "restructuring" of Islam.

The charter rejects "instrumentalising" Islam for political ends and affirms equality between men and women. It also explicitly rejects racism and anti-Semitism, and warns that mosques "are not created for the spreading of nationalist speech defending foreign regimes".