How Did Macron Contribute to the Fragmentation of the Islamic Federations in France?

Bitter differences and divisions in the Muslim community in France since President Emmanuel Macron imposed the formation of a National Council of Imams, in a move that caused a rift between the Grand Mosque of Paris and 3 organizations on the one hand, and the French Council of the Muslim Faith on the other.

The French Council announced its intention to form the new bloc of imams at the end of 2021, in response to Macron's plan aimed at extending his control over mosques.

Later on, the Mosque of Paris and three Muslim associations initiated the establishment of another Council of imams on November 21, 2021.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith, composed of nine federations representing different orientations (mostly from Algeria, Morocco, Turkey and Africa), was the main interlocutor of the authorities on matters relating to Muslims in France.

Now 4 unions have emerged from it and intend to form a new framework that expresses the Muslims of France for their rejection of a “charter” issued by the government “congress” at the request of Macron, which included concessions and tacit acceptance of accusations of terrorism and abroad financing.

This resulted in continuous division and schisms among the Muslim community, which observers relate to Macron's law, and his government's pressure on Muslims, even though they are the second-largest religious minority, estimated at about 6 million people.

Crisis details

Pressure increased on Islamic organizations following the assassination of a French teacher who showed his students satirical caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on October 16, 2020, by a Muslim.

It also deepened two weeks later, after the killing of 3 people in another attack on the Notre Dame church in Nice.

Despite the incidents of violence against Muslims also by French extremists, and the stabbing of two veiled girls in the Eiffel Tower square the day after the Nice church attack, the French president continued to describe Islam as "terrorism.”

This prompted the Sheikh of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, to criticize "the duplicity in dealing with terrorist incidents according to the perpetrator's religion," and described France's position as "shameful."

Prior to these incidents, Macron announced that he would fight what he called "Islamic isolation" in France in light of the attacks on employees of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, which publishes satirical caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, and talked about a "French version" he wants of Islam.

Macron's plans to defend what he calls "secular values" and to fight what he claimed was a "counter (Islamic) society" against France's Muslims included strict control of education, control of mosque donations and financing, and monitoring of imams.

Macron called on Muslims on November 18, 2020, to draw up a "charter of republican values" to confirm their commitment to being represented by the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

Under Macron's pressure, representatives of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (established 2003) announced on January 16, 2021, that he would draw up this "charter" for France's Muslims.

The statement issued by the Council affirmed that the charter would confirm "the compatibility of Islamic Sharia with the principles of the French Republic, refusing to employ Islam for political ends, and preventing foreign countries from interfering in the rituals of Muslims in France."

In addition to "acknowledging the principle of equality between men and women and rejecting some customary practices" that it claims are Islamic.

However, that charter caused a severe crisis within the council that represents the Muslims of France, and it was rejected by the dean of the Paris Mosque, the Algerian lawyer, Shams El-Din Hafeez, and withdrew from discussions about it, as he objected to the idea of ​​a "national council of imams."

Three bodies affiliated with the French Council supported the position of the Paris Mosque and announced on January 21, 2021, their refusal to sign a "charter" of principles regulating the affairs of France's Muslims, considering that some of its provisions implicitly show Muslims as terrorists.

The three bodies, which are the Coordinating Committee of Turkish Muslims in France, the Islamic Union of Milli Görüş, and the Faith and Practice Movement, issued a joint statement denouncing paragraphs and sentences in the text.

In a statement, it said that some of the articles "affect the honor of Muslims and have an accusatory and marginal nature," and expressed their objection to the definitions of "external interference" and "political Islam."

Official Split

In February 2021, the French Council of the Muslim Faith began arrangements to declare a "national council of imams,” amid sharp internal divisions and organizations within the council rejecting Macron's demands.

It was said that "the aim of the Council of Imams is to grant accreditation to imams and preachers, and to train imams in France to conform to the reality of Muslims in the French environment, respect the laws of the state, and prevent extremism."

Assuming the responsibility of the "Council of the Islamic Faith" to form the "Council of Imams" was rejected by many Muslims.

"More than 1,000 out of 2,600 mosques in France did not participate in the last elections to choose the council," according to Tarek Obru, imam of the al-Huda Mosque in Bordeaux, in an article published by him in the French newspaper Le Monde on December 9, 2020.

The conflict over the supervision of the Council of Imams came in the wake of the French President’s announcement on February 18, 2020, that he sought to prevent the recruitment of imams from outside France.

To prohibit the collection of data on racial or religious grounds, it is nearly impossible to count the number of imams in France.

The latest available estimates from the Ministry of the Interior date back to 2012, in which it said that the number of mosques in France is about 2,500, and the latest report issued by the Senate, in 2016, said that the number is close to three thousand.

However, Islamic bodies and organizations confirm that the number is greater than that, and there are other places of worship in the basements of residential buildings.

Just as the French authorities talk about the presence of a number of imams equal to the number of mosques and claim to bring in 300 imams from abroad annually, Muslims confirm that there are many small mosques, especially without dedicated imams, and the imam is often performed by a resident of the region.

According to the report of the previous French Senate, there are about two thousand imams in France, including about 150 from Turkey, 120 from Algeria and 30 from Morocco.

These disputes within the French Council of the Muslim Faith over the formation of the Council of Imams and before on the "Pact and the Republic," ended with an official public split after it was internal.

4 member unions of the Council announced their final withdrawal from it on March 22, 2021, and the establishment of a “new coordination” representing Muslims in the country.

The four unions, namely: The Great Mosque of Paris, The Union of Islamic Organizations (close to the Muslim Brotherhood), The Union of the Muslims of France (close to the Islamists of Morocco), and the French Federation of Islamic Associations of Africa.

In their withdrawal statement, they affirmed their protest against the acquiescence of the leadership of the French Council of the Muslim Faith to Macron's conditions and pressures.

The four federations called on "all those responsible for houses of worship and mosques to actively participate in this in-depth work, which will allow the emergence of a representative structure of Islamic worship capable of meeting the aspirations and ambitions of Muslims in France."

The creation of the National Council of Imams further highlighted the divisions between the Grand Mosque of Paris and the associations supporting its position, and the French Council of the Muslim Faith, which regulates Muslim worship in France.

The Future of the Community

It was clear from the beginning of the crisis that Macron was seeking a religion that fits with his aspirations, or a “‘new’ French Islam” along with similar calls in Germany and the United States.

Because Paris was trying to have its own "Islam,” through the official Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), the four Muslim federations refused to accept this deference to religion, amid fears that France will divide Muslims.

Paris would like to take charge of the formation of the imams’ council itself, in line with its secular values, instead of having countries with large communities such as Algeria, Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia send their imams to come to France, especially in the month of Ramadan.

The American newspaper, "The Wall Street Journal,” said that the goal of Macron's law is to "close any Islamic association that he sees as spreading ideas that incite hatred or violence,” and to force Islamic organizations to obtain government permits every five years, and to audit their accounts annually.

The newspaper explained on July 22, 2021, that "Macron wants to prevent any foreign funding for Muslims in France, so he has already closed mosques after restricting their access to funding and forced other mosques to abandon foreign donations in millions of dollars."

French newspapers considered Macron's crackdown on Muslims nothing but "election propaganda," in light of the voters’ sympathy with all attacks on Islam in France, and the majority of candidates considering this as one of the methods of collecting votes in a society hostile to Muslims.

Unions and Islamic forces that opposed the principles of the "Macron Pact" imposed on Muslims, considered the goal to confiscate Muslims' freedom of belief and "legitimize" racism against them.

They said that the French president presented evidence of this when he announced on October 22, 2020, his support for the cartoons of the Prophet, and said, "We will not abandon them."

This hostility was evident in the controversial “Principles of Strengthening Respect for the Values ​​of the Republic” law, which was finally approved by the French Parliament in July 2021, initially called “the fight against separatist Islam.”

Under the new law, those convicted of the gel-like crime of "separatism" are punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to 75,000 euros for those who refuse to follow the rules governing the "French public services."

This law means, for example, the imprisonment of any Muslim woman who refuses to be examined by a non-Muslim French doctor, or vice versa, or Muslims reject the idea of ​​nudity of the French, or perversion and secularism, including the attack on the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, with cartoons.

After approaching Muslim voters in the 2017 presidential elections, and winning their support, the French president seeks to show his hostility to Islam for his electoral campaign in February 2022, along with all presidential candidates competing for the title of "most anti-Muslim" this time.

Le Figaro touched on the existence of divisions in the ranks of the unions representing the Muslims of France, speaking of "a war between brothers,” and expected "that we will witness a new rupture because of the National Council of Imams established by Macron to control the mosques."