French-Tunisian Lawyer Majid Bouden Calls to Separate Religion from State: Terrorism Is the Outcome of Political Islam

French-Tunisian lawyer Majid Bouden, President of L'Association des avocats en droit international et étranger, said that terrorism was the outcome of political Islam. "The entire world has separated religion from state and politics, except for a group of Muslims," he said, adding that this is the problem of the entire world. Bouden, who lives in Paris, was speaking on Monte Carlo Doualiya Radio on March 23.

Majid Bouden: "How come there are no terrorist attacks in Malaysia, even though the people there are Muslims? How come there are no terrorist attacks in Senegal, even though the people there are Muslim? How come there are terrorist attacks in North Africa, Syria, Iraq, and Libya? The reason is that Muslim intellectuals adhere to political Islam. Political Islam is the problem. We must reach the point of separating Islam from politics. But [people] reject this. In addition, we give justifications for the situations in France and in Europe, by saying that these young Muslims have a social and economic problem. This is true, but this is an explanation, not a justification. This should not serve as a justification [for Islamic terrorism]. After all, young people of different sects suffer from the same political, social, and economic situation, but they do not resort to terrorist attacks. What makes young people from a specific extremist Islamic culture do this..."

Interviewer: "Is it their identity problem?"

Majid Bouden: "No! Their problem is that they are being led, by means of propaganda, by extremist Islamic groups..."  

Interviewer: "Who is behind these groups?"

Majid Bouden: "Political Islam.

[...]

"The entire world has separated religion from state and politics, except for a group of Muslims..."

Interviewer: "This is the problem of France, not the French people..."

Majid Bouden: "This is the problem of the whole world. It's no longer a matter of geography. In the 21st century, the world is like one house. This kind of thinking is reactionary and terroristic – in the case of both the extremists and the so-called 'moderates.'"