Did The Muslims Of France Fail To Form A Council Of Imams?

The dean of the Paris Mosque in France, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, withdrew from the project to form a national council of imams called for by the French presidency, denouncing the influence of the Islamic component in this body.

“I decided finally to stop participating in meetings that aimed at embodying the project of the National Council of Imams, and to freeze all contacts with the entire Islamic component of the French Council of the Islamic Religion”, the mosque’s dean said in a statement.

Hafeez justified this decision by saying; “Unfortunately, the Islamic component within the French Council of the Islamic Religion, especially that associated with foreign regimes hostile to France, has maliciously obstructed the negotiations through its semi-systematic stabbing of some important paragraphs in the charter”.

“The representation of Muslims deserves to move away from questionable practices, surrounded by actions that seek to sow discord in the ranks of the national community, and separate the French Muslims from their society”.

Last November, the French presidency called for the formation of a national council of imams, which establishment was discussed a lot without being associated with any practical steps in this direction, and the task of implementing this project was delegated to the French Council of the Islamic Religion.

It was assumed that the nine federations that make up the French Council of the Islamic Religion would reach an agreement at the beginning of December, regarding a “Charter for the Values of the Republic”.

After the increasing pressure to find a better framework for Islam in France, following the killing of the teacher, Samuel Paty, in mid-October, for showing offensive cartoons of the Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, to his pupils.