France’s main think tank published a report in February calling for the replacement of Easter and Pentecost with Islamic and Jewish alternatives.

(VERO BEACH, FLA) On Wednesday February 22nd, 2017 French think-tank Terra Nova published a report titled “The Emancipation of Islam in France” calling.

Terra Nova, which New York based think-tank Gatestone Institute labeled as “France’s main think tank that provides ideas to the governing Socialist Party,” suggested in the report that French authorities should replace two Christian holidays — Easter and Pentecost — with an Islamic holiday and, to be ecumenical, a Jewish holiday.

“In order to treat all the denominations equally, it should include two important new holidays, Yom Kippur and Eid el Kebir, with the removal of two Mondays that do not correspond to particular solemnity,” Alain Christnacht and Marc-Olivier Padis wrote in the study.

The Gatestone Institute commented that this move would see Catholic Easter and Christian Pentecost sacrificed “to keep the ever-elusive multicultural peace.”

Upon review the Episcopal Conference of France rejected Terra Nova’s proposal, but the Union of Islamic Organizations of France — known for close association with the Muslim Brotherhood — endorsed it and called for the inclusion of the Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The Observatory of Secularism, an organization created by French President François Hollande to coordinate secularist policies,  previously endorsed this idea as early as 2013, adding they would like to eliminate further Christian holidays to make way for the Islamic, Jewish and secular holidays.

“France must replace two Christian holidays to make way for the Yom Kippur and Eid,” Observatory of Secularism member Dounia Bouzar was quoted by France24 as saying in September of 2013.

French media has responded with distinct cynicism to the continuing decline of Christian belief in France. Frederic Lenoir, the editor-in-chief of LeMonde des Religions, a French publication which roughly translates to “The World of Religions”, said response to Terra Nova study ”France is no longer a Catholic country.”

Previously, French Newspaper Le Figaro posed the question in 2012, asking its readers if Islam can already be considered “France’s prime religion.”

In 2016 the Montaigne Institute, a French think tank known for providing ideas to presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, published a report proposing the creation of a “Grand Imam of France” and also suggesting the teaching of Arabic in public schools.

According to news site Liberation, this idea was also sponsored by Jack Lang, president of the Institute of the Arab world, who said in December 2016 that “the Arab world is part of us”.

The Gatestone Institute postulates that this movement to assimilate Islamic culture while simultaneously expelling Christianity will consume French society and historical culture.

“By hybridizing cultures and rejecting Christianity, France will soon end up not even teaching also Arabic, but only Arabic, and Ramadan instead of Easter.soon leave France not even teaching also Arabic, but only Arabic, and Ramadan instead of Easter,” Gatestone Institute analyst Giulio Meotti wrote.

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