Opinions differ on the causes and remedies, but everyone agrees on the diagnosis. Firstly, there are the controversial remarks of Fouad Alaoui, Vice-President of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, during his annual gathering at Le Bourget, concerning the “discomfort” of Muslims, a discomfort he attributes to “the unconditional alienation of our country’s Jewish authorities to the side of the Israeli oppressor.” These remarks were immediately denounced by the president of CRIF (Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions), Richard Prasquier. There is also an increase, noted by “Le Monde”, in disputes between veiled Muslim women and their employers in the public sector. Finally, there is the vehement challenge to the authority of the Rector of the Great Mosque of Paris by the pro-Palestinian collective “Cheikh Yassine”. These are all alarming signs of the growing risk of divisions between Jews and Muslims within the French population. For a minority of the latter, these events are coupled with a temptation towards radicalization, a phenomenon obviously worsened by the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza.
These elements have reignited the idea—recently echoed by Stéphanie Le Bars of “Le Monde” and Henri Tincq from www.slate.fr—of a “Muslim CRIF”, or, to avoid a semantic proximity sometimes considered “embarrassing”, a “Federation” that would encompass French Muslims or those close to this religious “sensitivity.” Essentially, a national body that would become a less “politically fragile” interlocutor than the Paris Mosque while maintaining “complete complementarity” with the French Council of the Muslim Faith in its dialogue with the state, and with all other religions as well. While several projects coexist, their objectives appear to be identical: to ensure, beyond the religious issues managed by the CFCM and the Paris Mosque, a better “cultural” – a euphemism for political – representation of the 5 million Muslims living in France. This, however, requires unifying Islam’s diverse components: alongside non-practicing Muslims and moderate religious figures, less inclined to be confined by a secularism often perceived as an obstacle to their faith, it is also necessary to integrate those opting for more radical paths: “the majority of young Muslims,” asserts one of the initiators of the ongoing projects, himself a Muslim who wishes to remain anonymous.
Whether they opt for an Association, a Federation, or a Foundation, their future leaders share a common concern: to prioritize community actions with an absolute focus on education and housing, two areas ripe with frustrations that feed into a “radical and proselytist Islam.” In one of the projects, provisionally titled “National Representative Federation of French Citizens of Arab Origin or Muslim Sensibility,” the drafting of a Charter aims to promote a “scrupulous respect for the laws of the Republic,” according to one of its promoters, Azzédine Zaïm Bouamama, an “engaged” industrialist who defines himself as a “secular Muslim.” This national “Federation” also plans to rely on regional networks to foster the integration of Muslims in France, who are still “too tied”, according to its creator, to their countries of origin. He cites Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, whose representatives sometimes confuse their representativeness in the regional councils of the Muslim faith with a “political victory” of their state of origin in France. All these “foreign influences,” backed by significant funding, are challenges that this new body will need to “channel” and whose proper allocation it will have to verify, with an “associated state control.” Clearly, the thorny issue of mosque construction.
If the Elysée, as one might expect, is following this file with particular attention, political authorities in the PACA region, long involved in promoting dialogue between faiths, are considering the possibility of a “pilot experience” that could be extended if successful. The key challenge remains: finding the right personality who would enjoy an unquestioned audience within the various Muslim circles and be recognized for their unwavering commitment to republican principles.
