Marine Le Pen Refuses to Meet Lebanon's Grand Mufti; 'I Will Not Wear a Headscarf'

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right National Rally party, canceled her meeting with Lebanon's Grand Mufti due to her refusal to wear a headscarf. According to AFP, Le Pen, who is considered a leading candidate in the French presidential elections, is on a two-day trip to Lebanon to bolster her foreign policy credentials ahead of the elections. On Tuesday morning, she first met with Michel Aoun, the President of Lebanon, marking her first meeting with a foreign head of state. She then met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and proceeded to 'Dar al-Fatwa' to meet Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the Grand Mufti of Lebanon. Le Pen stated, 'I met with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in 2015, who is the highest religious authority for Sunnis, but such a request was not made of me.' She added, 'You can convey my respects to the Grand Mufti, but I will not cover myself.' Officials from the Grand Mufti's office had previously informed Le Pen's aides that wearing a headscarf was necessary for the meeting. In France, based on the principle of separation of religion from politics, wearing a headscarf is banned for public service employees and high school students, and Le Pen has supported banning hijabs in all public places during her election campaign. After her meeting with Saad Hariri, Le Pen distanced herself from the French government's policy, stating that Bashar al-Assad is the only viable solution to prevent the rise of the Islamic State in Syria. Le Pen said, 'I have previously explained that Bashar al-Assad is now a more reliable solution than the Islamic State for France in Syria.' According to AFP, Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon's Druze community, criticized Le Pen, stating that she insulted the people of Lebanon and Syria.