Four federations making up the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) announced Wednesday evening March 17 that they were withdrawing from the executive office of this body, the main interlocutor of the public authorities on Muslim worship.
The Federation of the Great Mosque of Paris, the Rassemblement des Musulmans de France, Musulmans de France and the French Federation of Islamic Associations of Africa, the Comoros and the Antilles (FFAIACA) indicated, in a joint statement, their
"final withdrawal. of the executive office of the CFCM from today ”
Wednesday.
Read also: Why the Islam of France is tearing itself apart
A decision noted by the president of the CFCM Mohammed Moussaoui, contacted by AFP, who stressed that these four federations, out of nine in total, at this stage
"keep their places on the Board of Directors"
.
These four federations question the holding of a meeting on Wednesday, organized, according to them,
"unilaterally"
by Mohammed Moussaoui, to appoint the national prison chaplain.
They evoke a meeting
"organized in spite of common sense, illegally and against
(their)
opinion"
.
False, replied Mohammed Moussaoui, who emphasizes having
"respected the statutory rules"
.
According to him, he is accused of having held this meeting with among the present members of the two Turkish federations, the Coordination Committee of Turkish Muslims in France (CCMTF) as well as Millî Görüs (CIMG) who refused in January to sign. the
“Charter of Principles for Islam in France”
.
The four protesting federations
"demand that all meetings of the executive board be suspended until further notice, until the non-signatory federations initial the text,"
added Mohammed Moussaoui.
“
But we cannot agree to paralyze the CFCM”
while waiting for an uncertain signature, he said.
To read also: Separatism: the CFCM ensures that "Islam accepts criticism"
Created in 2003, this body headed since January 2020 by Mohammed Moussaoui has become over the years the main interlocutor of the public authorities on Islam but it is regularly undermined by its internal disputes and its representativeness is often questioned.
Claimed by Emmanuel Macron in the wake of his offensive against
"separatism"
,
"the charter of principles for Islam in France"
reaffirms the
"compatibility"
of the Muslim faith with the Republic and proscribes
"interference"
by States foreigners in worship in France.
It was signed after several weeks of internal crises by five CFCM federations.