The French Council for Muslim Worship (CFCM) “lived”, declared Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, also in charge of Worship, Thursday January 20 on franceinfo. The outgoing president of the CFCM, Mohammed Moussaoui, wants this body, the main interlocutor of the public authorities since 2003 and today deeply divided, to be dissolved during a general assembly, scheduled for February 19. His mandate ended on Wednesday without any agreement to find a successor, even interim, being reached.
“I think that he [le CFCM] tried to do something positivesaid the Minister of the Interior. Today, that is no longer possible.” “The Muslim Worship Council was created to try to structure Islam in France. He was at the time structured around national federations: Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians, Comorians, Turks”. It is this form of“Consular Islam”with federations of mosques affiliated with countries (Algeria, Morocco, Turkey), which “no longer acceptable”believes Gérald Darmanin.
“Today we see extremely strong interference from foreign states and we cannot accept that.”
Gerald Darmaninfranceinfo
From now on, “there will be no more, we hope, CFCM”he wished, while recalling that “it is an independent association”. “There will be something else”continued Gérald Darmanin, for whom “It’s the end of foreign influence by Islam in France”. He confirms that a “Forum of Islam in France” (Forif) must be held “at the beginning of February”. “There will be women, assures Gérald Darmanin, because today, there are female imams or female religious leaders of Islam, who are never represented at the CFCM”but also “association leaders who did not feel represented in institutional and consular Islam”.
Dissolution of the Council of Muslim Worship ➡️ “Islam is not a religion of foreigners in France. It’s the end of foreign influence by Islam in France” for Gérald Darmanin.
Follow the live https://t.co/cEwi3c61QM pic.twitter.com/ZDOUByB7bl
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) January 20, 2022
“We invite all those who wish to organize Islam [en France] to organize it”he insisted, indicating at the same time that “it’s not up to the state to do it”. “We want to allow the means of this organization for chaplaincies, to watch anti-religious acts, for the constitution of imams in each of the mosques, to fight against separatism.”