the headache of certain mosques facing an increasing budget

From April 1, seconded imams who officiate in France must change their status and be salaried if they want to manage places of worship.

Since January 1, France no longer accepts imams sent and paid by foreign countries. For those who are already in France, the change of administrative status has been mandatory since April 1. If a “detached imam” wants to stay in his mosque, he must now be an employee, either of the place of worship in which he officiates, or of an association.

The aim of this measure for the government is to ensure that no “seconded” imam is paid by a foreign state because they are most often assimilated to civil servants employed by the government or religious authority of the country from which they are native. The idea of ​​the executive is in particular to reduce the influence of the countries of origin. This measure concerns some 300 imams out of the 2,700 in France, who until now came mainly from Turkey (150), Algeria (120) and Morocco (30), countries with which France had signed agreements. bilateral ties since the 1980s.

But keeping them represents a cost for mosques. If the big ones can afford it, the smaller ones have more difficulties, explains the vice-president of the French Council of Muslim Faith Abdallah Zekri. “We do not ask for money from foreign countries. We make a contribution once a month. Faithful give a donation which is used to pay the mosque’s charges, electricity or water bills, for example. These charges -there will therefore naturally increase if we take charge of the imam.”

A significant cost for the mosque, a financial loss for the imam

Abdallah Zekri sent to the prefecture the contract he signed with the “seconded” imam who has officiated since 2021 in the Peace Mosque, in Nîmes, of which he is the rector, to prove that he is now an employee. . But he can only pay him a salary of 1,500 euros while as a civil servant paid by Algeria, the imam received 2,650.

Staying can therefore represent a financial loss for these “detached” imams. “There are smaller mosques that cannot keep them because there are not enough faithful to collect 3,000 euros every month”notes Abdallah Zekri.

The “detached” imam of course remains free to make his choice. Some choose to return to their country of origin to continue their career and not lose their rights. In France, a large part of the imams who work in mosques remain volunteers.