3 MUSLIM GROUPS DENOUNCE FRANCE’S ‘CHARTER OF PRINCIPLES’ OF ISLAM

Fri 22 January 2021:

Several organizations of the French Council of Muslim Cults (CFCM) have unilaterally condemned France’s “charter of principles” of Islam, expressing disagreement with the text and saying that it risks “weakening the bonds of trust” and also “undermining the honor of Muslims.”

The Coordination Committee of Turkish Muslims in France (CCMTF), the Millî Görüş Islamic Confederation (CMIG) and the Faith and Practice movement announced Wednesday that they have not signed the charter which was approved and presented to French President Emmanuel Macron.

They demanded amendments to the text of the 10-point charter which Macron helmed as a “foundational text for relations between the State, Islam and France.”

“We obviously agree with the demand for non-interference by States, the non-instrumentalization of religions and respect for the Constitution and the principles of the Republic,” a joint statement said. “However, we believe that certain passages and formulations of the submitted text are likely to weaken the bonds of trust between the Muslims of France and the Nation. In addition, certain statements undermine the honor of Muslims, with an accusatory and marginalizing character.”

The three groups said the charter was approved without obtaining the full consensus of other integral components of the CFCM, including the regional and departmental councils and imams who will be affected by the decision. It cited that the Great Mosque of Saint Denis de la Reunion, which is one of the founding components of the CFCM, has refused to sign this charter.

After weeks of internal disagreements, the CFCM, a national body of nine associations – said it reached an agreement on the text of the charter “rejecting foreign interference, political Islam, and certain customary practices and on respecting gender equality.”

The agreement would pave the way for the formation of the National Council of Imams which will have powers to authorize the practice of imams.

The council will curb the entry of imams from Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, and 300 imams may be expelled, according to a report published by the France 24 news outlet.

The three organizations said that although they are convinced that the imam’s council is beneficial, it should derive its legitimacy from the Muslim population. They underlined the need for “a broad, democratic and participatory consultation” instead of customarily signing the text that the “community cannot calmly accept.”

France has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, with an estimated 5 million or more Muslims out of a population of 67 million. Since Macron’s inauguration as president in 2017, France has become a less liberal country for Muslims.

Many French Muslims say that concerns over Islam have spilled over into stigmatization, pointing to issues such as recent rows about young women wearing headscarves appearing before a parliamentary committee or giving cooking tips on television.

Macron described Islam as a “deathly ideology” in the wake of attacks by terrorist groups, although groups such as Daesh, which claimed responsibility for many attacks in France, are unequivocally rejected by the Muslim community.

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