ISTANBUL

The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) on Saturday decried a French government request for mosque imams to recommend same-sex marriage as a double standard against Islam.

In a Facebook post addressed to French Minister of Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, IUMS Secretary-General Ali al-Qaradaghi described the request as “provocative” and “does not support a peaceful life in France”.

On March 23, Schiappa made televised remarks, saying imams of mosques in France “must recognize in their sermons the right to marriage for people of the same sex”.

"The world has become a small village. The impact of every negative decision extends far beyond what the decision-maker expects," Qaradaghi said. He called for respect of “the sanctities of society and its religious pluralism”.

Qaradaghi said Schiappa’s statement also violated laws and that her support for homosexuality is prohibited not only in Islam but by “all divine laws."

"The family in the traditional sense is made of a man, a woman, and their children, and it is the natural and legal definition supported by international human rights declarations," Qaradaghi explained.

He shunned homosexuality as “an aggression” against human nature and the meaning of the family.

The union leader urged Muslims in France "to appeal to civil law and institutions to confront any law that limits their human rights and most importantly their religious freedom."

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara