Secondo H.A. Hellyer (Royal United Services Institute e Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace) un approccio top-down per formare imam nel continente europeo come quello auspicato dal presidente dell’European Council Charles Michel potrebbe essere controproducente.

There’s nothing untoward, intrinsically speaking, to favor the establishment and development of Muslim institutions of religious authority in Europe. That simply follows an existing pattern for Muslim communities historically and worldwide.

Sadly, Michel’s intervention risks impeding that process tremendously. The way in which the discourse is unfolding is not just going to fail to deliver, it’s likely to delay the undertaking tremendously and possibly cause irrevocable damage to the entire venture.