Muslim Groups Blast Macron’s Anti-Islamic ‘Charter’

Date: 23 January 2021 - 21:34

News ID: ۸۶۸۲۴

PARIS (Dispatches) -- Three major Muslim organizations in France have censured the government’s "charter of principles” of Islam, insisting that the document will likely undermine "the honor of Muslims.”
President Emmanuel Macron wants French Muslim groups to sign up to the charter, saying he seeks to secure France’s secular system in the wake of a spate of attacks blamed on extremists in 2020.
But the three groups which make up the nine-member French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) said, "We believe that certain passages and formulations in the text submitted are likely to weaken the bonds of trust between the Muslims of France and the nation.”
"Furthermore, some statements are prejudicial to the honor of Muslims, with an accusatory and marginalizing tone,” they added in a Friday statement, referring to the text of the so-called anti-extremism charter.
Macron has enraged Muslims worldwide by publicly supporting publication of a derogatory image of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) and describing the Abrahamic faith of nearly 1.8 billion people as a "religion in crisis.”
"We obviously agree with the demand for non-interference by States, the non-instrumentalization of religions and respect for the Constitution and the principles of the Republic,” the joint statement said.
The development came days after dozens of civil society organizations called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to open formal infringement procedures against the French government for entrenching Islamophobia.
In a complaint to the UNHRC, nearly 36 groups from 13 countries outlined the "clear violation of a number of basic rights that are protected in legislation that is ratified by Paris.”
"France has seen shocking levels of state-sanctioned Islamophobia in recent months. This has precipitated the closure of mosques, Muslim schools, Muslim-led charities and civil society organizations,” said Muhammad Rabbani, managing director of Cage, which co-signed the complaint.
The approval of Macron’s charter dictating how Muslims in France should practice their faith would pave the way for the establishment of a so-called national council of imams that would have powers to authorize and shape the practices of imams across the French Muslim communities.
The council will also control and restrict the entry of imams from Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, according to reports published by France’s mainstream media outlets which said under the plan 300 imams may be expelled.