A status of the imam and a federation of Islam inspired by Protestants: the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, pleaded Monday for a better structuring of the country's second religion, by launching the second session of the Forum's work for Islam in France (Forif).
“There will now be a status of imam in France,” he said during a press conference, asking Forif to “work within six months to create” such a status, question nagging of the organization of this cult.
For Muslims to “fix the status of religion”
Unlike priests, pastors or rabbis, imams do not necessarily have to meet religious curriculum requirements.
In a country governed by the principle of secularism, it is up to Muslims “to determine the religious status” of imams, noted the minister.
But on the secular side we also need social protection, with employed imams, and a level of linguistic and academic standards, relying on the 34 existing “secularism” training courses.
A “structuring” by departments
Gérald Darmanin also pleaded for a structuring of Islam which “comes from the departments”, like what has already been achieved in “more than 40” of them.
But “it is not up to the State to preside over this structuring,” he added, encouraging Forif to organize itself “like there is a federation of Protestants” in France.
“It is up to you to transform the F of Forif into the F of Federation”, he told the 86 representatives, field actors designated by the prefects (associations, religious, lawyers, members of civil society …)
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The structuring of Islam is a long-standing challenge which has always encountered rivalries between different nationalities.
To put an end to “consular Islam”, since January the public authorities have banned the arrival of “imams seconded” by Morocco, Algeria and Turkey, which concerned around 300 people.
Security, cemeteries and discrimination against Muslims
The minister also expressed his desire to move forward on the issue of confessional squares in cemeteries, which sometimes lack space.
“By July 1 (…) we will ensure that access to a grave is no longer a subject for our compatriots,” he promised.
Another promise is the doubling to one million euros per year of funds allocated to securing Muslim places of worship to “systematically support project leaders”.
Because in 2023, with 242 acts recorded, “anti-Muslim acts have increased by almost 30%”, insisted Gérald Darmanin, specifying that “more than half” of these acts were committed during the last three months, “this which shows that the conflict in the Middle East has obvious resonances on our soil.”
On this point, the minister welcomed the birth in February of the Association for the Defense against Discrimination and Anti-Muslim Acts (ADDAM), which “aims to ensure better reporting” of anti-Muslim acts that are “clearly still underestimated”.
The Forif to turn the page of the CFCM
The Forif was launched in February 2022 by Gérald Darmanin in the wake of Emmanuel Macron's speech at Les Mureaux, where he outlined his policy against radical Islam in 2020.
A total of six working groups are working on various subjects, within this structure which was initially supposed to meet every year.
The launch of the Forif should also make it possible to turn the page on the CFCM (French Council of Muslim Worship), the State's privileged interlocutor since 2003 but losing its representativeness due to internal struggles.
Although disconnected by the public authorities, the latter is resisting because it continues to exist in a different form.
In January he adopted new governance, also aspiring to better represent the field.
This Forif meeting is also launched as the public authorities display their intransigence in the face of the risks of abuses or Islamism.
Mahjoub Mahjoubi, an imam targeted by an investigation for advocating terrorism and radical preaching, was deported Thursday evening to Tunisia.
But “out of the 2,600 mosques, less than thirty pose problems,” Gérald Darmanin said on Monday.