On Tuesday I posted about a “French” imam who went on the lam to avoid deportation. Below is a story about another imam in France who was prosecuted and convicted for his incendiary Jew-hatred, but has avoided doing any prison time for it.

The case has a Mohammed Coefficient of 100%.

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from the regional daily La Dépêche:

Imam Mohamed Tataiat sentenced to four months (suspended) for anti-Semitic sermon by appeals court of Toulouse

August 31, 2022

Accused of giving an anti-Semitic sermon in December 2017, but freed by the criminal tribunal of Toulouse on 14 September 2021, the imam of Empalot district, Mohamed Tataiat, has just been sentenced to four months in prison (suspended) and fined approximately €30,000 by the appeals court of Toulouse. He is pursuing a reduction.

A new episode in the case of Mohamed Tataiat. Four and a half months after the start of the case, the imam has been sentenced by the Toulouse appeals court to four months’ imprisonment with suspension and fined approximately €30,000. On the day of the trial, the prosecutor had requested six months’ imprisonment and a fine of €10,000.

In this decision, the court rules that he gave an anti-Semitic sermon on 15 December 2017 within the walls of the mosque located in the Empalot quarter of Toulouse. A speech read in the Arabic language and disseminated live on YouTube, in which he reportedly incited his followers to kill the Jews. “A dangerous speech containing anti-Semitic violence,” stated Hassen Chalghoumi, president of the Conference of Imams in France, before the appeals court on May 30.

During the investigation carried out by the police, several interpreters had translated these words in the following phrase: “The Final Judgment will not come until the Muslims combat the Jews.” However, according to Mahamed Tataiat, “This was not a command, but rather a warning for the Muslims not to participate in this movement. Otherwise, it would be the end of the universe. This phase has been decontextualized.”

Six months in prison requested

Before the magistrates on the day of trial, the imam himself claimed that all of the Salafists in the Empalot mosque had been kicked out. “My client states that he has committed no reprehensible act. The remarks he made come from a reading of the text that is part of the body of Islam. To criminalize this reading can pose a major problem for all religions,” stated Attorney Jean Iglesis, the lawyer for the imam, who was absent during the reading of the ruling. “He is sick,” noted his counsel. The associations that combat anti-Semitism hail this decision. “The ruling is satisfying. We have heard very explicit references to terrorist leaders. For us, there is no ambiguity. The appeals court did not err,” analyzed Jacques Samuel, the lawyer for the civil parties. However, the affair is not finished, since the counsel for Mohamed Tataiat announced that his client would pursue a reduction.