The rector of the great Mosque of Paris (GMP) announced to withdraw from the project of the National Council of Imams (CNI), wanted by the Elysee and entrusted to the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), denouncing the influence of “the Islamist component” within the CFCM.
“I have decided to no longer participate in the meetings which aim to implement the project of the National Council of Imams and to freeze all contacts with the entire Islamist component of the CFCM”, wrote the rector, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, in a press release. “This is an “irrevocable decision,” he says.
The plan for a National Council of Imams (CNI) responsible for certifying their training in France was urged by the Elysee Palace as part of its bill against radical Islam and separatism.
The creation of such a body, mentioned many times but never materialized, had been formally requested by Emmanuel Macron during his speech at Mureaux (Yvelines) presenting his strategy to fight against “separatism” in early October.
The pressure to better frame the Islam of France had further increased with the assassination of Samuel Paty and the attack in Nice.
This project was entrusted to the CFCM, its main interlocutor on questions of organization of the Muslim religion in France. The CNI must issue an authorization to imams based on their knowledge and their commitment to respect a code of ethics.
The nine federations of mosques that make up the CFCM, regularly criticized for its lack of representativeness, were first to agree in early December on a “charter of republican values”.
