French Muslim Associations Criticize IFOP for Its Bias, Breach of Ethical Standards

French Muslim Associations Criticize IFOP for Its Bias, Breach of Ethical Standards
————————————-
A new IFOP survey on Islam in France has triggered a formal backlash, with several Muslim associations filing a legal complaint that accuses the pollster of violating France’s standards for impartial public opinion research.

According to IQNA, the complaint—submitted to the Paris judicial court by the departmental Muslim councils of Loiret, Aube, Bouches-du-Rhône, and Seine-et-Marne—argues that the poll fails to meet legal requirements for neutrality, objectivity, and fairness. These councils, formerly part of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, once served as local intermediaries between Muslim communities and public authorities.

According to lawyers representing the associations, the survey breaches French law governing the publication and dissemination of opinion polls. They contend that the questionnaire is framed in ways that guide respondents toward predetermined conclusions, and that the presentation of results magnifies minority responses for provocative effect. Such practices, they warn, risk fueling fear, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, and contributing to rising Islamophobia in public discourse.

The survey, commissioned by the media outlet Ecran de veille—a publication that describes its mission as countering extremism—was conducted among 1,005 Muslim respondents. Media and political attention has largely focused on a sub-sample of 291 participants aged 15 to 24, the majority of whom identified as religious, reported regular prayer, and said they observe Ramadan.

In his commentary on the findings, IFOP’s director of political and current affairs studies suggested that the results indicate growing religiosity marked by strict norms and an increasing attraction toward political Islam. That interpretation has been sharply contested. Far-right figures cited the survey as evidence of what they term “Islamization,” while Muslim representatives and several scholars rejected such conclusions as misleading and alarmist.

The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris criticized the survey’s methodology, arguing that poorly constructed questionnaires do not merely measure anxiety—they risk generating it. IFOP has stated that it will issue a written response to the criticisms.