European Council President Charles Michel on Monday called for the creation of a European institute to train imams as a way to curb hate speech and prevent terrorism. Speaking in Vienna, where he paid tribute to the victims of last week’s terrorist attack, Michel said he believes a school for imams could help “to fight against extremist ideologies, violent extremism, messages of hatred, messages of rejection that feed these terrorist actions.” …He added that the goal must be to create acceptance for “the primacy of civil law” and to forge “mutual respect” for common values and democracy.

Similar ideas of training imams to have European values have already been floated in Germany and France amid fears of foreign influence. However, there are questions about how such a model would work in practice as religious authorities could be reluctant about being trained by secular governments.

Michel’s proposal was immediately met with skepticism.

The proposal comes ahead of a videoconference on Tuesday between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as well as Michel and Kurz, who plan to discuss European answers to the threat of terrorism. The European Council president also demanded that the EU crack down on foreign funding for religious organizations “that mobilize to stir up hatred.” In addition, EU legislative proposals expected next month should contribute to removing radical messages on the internet, Michel said.

Source: The Politico