In France, the government, which previously vowedto reduce foreign influences on the practice of Islam in the country, approvedvisas for 300 imams from Algeria and Morocco to lead Ramadan services in French mosques. The move sparkeda backlash from across the political spectrum. “To ask Algeria and Morocco to send us imams during the month of Ramadan is unacceptable,” saidthe former Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who has pledged to “cut all bridges” between Muslims in France and “third countries.”

Soeren Kern Europe: Ramadan Roundup, 2018