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Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Abdallah Ben Mansour, co-founder of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, at a conference hosted by the Union, which aired on Iqra TV on March 31, 2013:
Abdallah Ben Mansour: I chose to speak about this today because I've heard all the lectures. All the lecturers talked about dignity and preached to the Muslims: We should do this and that. We should be dignified. I am not telling you to be dignified – you are already dignified. You do not know this, but you should: You are dignified, noble, majestic, fabulous, lofty, strong, and grand.
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Abdallah Ben Mansour: This must not [just] be said. It must be believed, because it is the truth. It was not me who decreed this, it was Allah. All glory to Allah, to His Messenger, and to the believers. It is a gene that you have in your DNA – no one can remove it. Let me set the past aside and focus on the interlude of the present.
Who defended France during World War I? Who defended France during World War II? Who served as cannon fodder, preventing the Germans from slaughtering the French? It was your parents, your ancestors – the Muslims of Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, and Algeria. Without the contribution of Muslims, France would never have been liberated. Go and research the military cemeteries. Check out how many crescents bloom among the crosses. You will feel that you are really dignified and strong.
But beyond the defense of France – who has built the France of today? Who works on the highways? Who digs the tunnels? Who fetches the coal inside the mines? Who collects your garbage in the morning? You do not see them at night... Who carries out all the lowly chores, so that France can exist? It is your parents. It is you.
But beyond this, who makes it possible for the laboratories and universities to function in France. Do not seek the Muslims deep in the mines. Look at them at the top of the universities. You will see that this is you. Even if people are not aware of it, there is not a single research lab, not a single discipline, in which the Muslims – even if they are relegated to second place – are not the engineers and inventors.
France owes them a tremendous debt. Therefore – yes, we have dignity. Repeat after me...
When France decided to wage war against the veil... What is the veil... The veil is the garb of the Muslim woman who says: "I am a human being." "Regard me as a human being – with a capital H – not as a sex object." "I am a worthy of interest because I am a woman, a human being – not a body, not a seductive advertisement promoting merchandise." But this disproves a theory hundreds of years old. So we declared war on the veil.
The Muslim woman can choose to study, in which case she must leave her Islam, or else she can insist upon remaining a Muslim, in which case she is denied access to knowledge.
How did the Muslims react to this? Did we break anything? Did we burn anything? Did we insult anyone? Absolutely not. The Muslims responded with dignity and responsibility. They turned to the law, and the law supported them. The Counseil d'Etat supported them. They declared a new law.
While unemployment is on the rise, and the purchasing power is dropping, while the banks are on the brink of collapse, the economy is failing, and all indicators are flashing red, politicians find nothing better to do than to go after the nanny at home. Because she is a Muslim they are going to take off her veil.
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They have failed to straighten out France. What do they want to do? They want to remove the Muslim woman's veil. The veil of the Muslim woman is a symbol of her dignity, a symbol of her humanity. Nobody can tear it away from her or remove it. Those who have tried, like Sarkozy, have paid a heavy price, and those who will try [in the future] will pay a heavy price too.
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Who will rescue the economy? Who will rescue the banks? We will – the Muslims. This is why we say: Yes...
Audience: ...I have dignity.
Abdallah Ben Mansour: Who will protect the family, when it is being shattered? When we had the heatwave, 15,000 people died. We could not find any relatives for 350 of the deceased. Children have abandoned their grandfathers. Parents do not want to recognize their children. Now we are institutionalizing same-sex marriage, in order to destroy the family.
But the family is the pillar of society. It is the cell, the cement. Who will protect it? Who is protecting it at present? The Muslims are. They are the only ones. My grandfather is in my home. My mother is in my home. I will not send them away to a death home. I will not enter Paradise if I do not care for my mother, my father, and my grandfather. They are my key to Paradise.
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Yes, we will save the family. Why? Because: "Yes, I have dignity." The world suffers ills. Ecology... Who invented ecology? The environment, global warming, rising oceans, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, everything that Western civilization has brought to pervert the environment – who will protect it? Who will form intelligent relationships between humans and the environment? It is you – the Muslims. We are the future of humanity. We are the saviors of humanity, the future of humanity. Why? Because: "Yes, I have dignity."
All glory to Allah, to His Messenger, and to the believers. Salaam Aleikum. Allah's blessings upon you.
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