French Council for Muslim Faith reacts to Macron’s speech

The French Council of Muslim Faith held its Extraordinary General Assembly in response to President Emmanuel Macron’s recent decision to dissolve the CFCM, according to a statement sent to the Editorial Board of Morocco Telegraph.

To adopt new statutes, the CFCM held its Extraordinary General Assembly in Bagnolet on February 19, 2023. The EGA was attended by more than 55% of its members, 73% of whom were chosen by local actors. A new AGE is required by the CFCM statutes in order to validate the new statutes. On March 12, 2023, it will be held.

The new statutes call for a reorganization of the CFCM based on departmental structures; all French mosques may participate equally. The success of recent departmental structures developed in pilot departments attests to the appropriateness of this decision.

They also call for an end to the so-called statutory federations’ system of cooptation, which currently affects 50% of the CFCM’s members. The main reason the CFCM has been blocked in recent years is because of this system, which has shown to be undemocratic and capricious.

With these two significant adjustments, the CFCM hopes to give local actors who have been duly elected by their peers a voice once more. The artificial borders and divisions that have severely impeded the CFCM in carrying out its missions will be eliminated by these actors, who share similar concerns.

The CFCM was founded in 2003 on the initiative of Mr. Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who was serving as the Interior and Religious Affairs Minister at the time. Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President of the Republic, provided the decisive impetus for the organization’s creation.

The CFCM currently represents over 1,100 mosques that took part in its 2020 election. This number is anticipated to rise significantly as a result of the new reform, which addresses the primary barriers to greater voter participation.

To adapt to new contexts, every representation of the cults in our nation had to change. This dynamic involves the Muslim cult. The CFCM plans to advance today, moving past the ups and downs and crisis it has encountered in recent years.

This organization is a priceless resource that must be upheld, enhanced, and strengthened because it made it possible to inscribe Islam in the fabric of French culture with undeniable accomplishments.

The main purpose of the CFCM is to defend the interests of the Muslim cult, to permit French Muslims to receive the spiritual guidance they desire, to aid in the growth of the Muslim cult in France, and to represent the Muslim cult in all public forums, events, and social discussions.

Without giving the CFCM a thorough evaluation, it should be noted that it has been able to support, through CRCMs, numerous projects of mosque construction, the appointment of chaplains in the army, hospitals, and prisons, to publish, in collaboration with the public authorities, several practical and circular guides for the slaughter according to the rites, the pilgrimage, and the organization of the burial spaces in the cemeteries, to combat extremist ideology.

The Conference of Religious Leaders in France (CRCF), an example of interreligious interaction that has made it possible to strengthen fraternity in our nation, was founded by the CFCM.

The CRPR Act of August 24, 2021, which was passed at the request of the CFCM, addressed the issue of funding worship by reporting buildings, even though the provision it adopted is still in need of improvement.

For the past two years, a national council of chaplains and imams has conducted a thorough analysis of the status and accreditation of imams.

A contract between the CFCM and the Ministry of the Interior also allows for improved statistical tracking of anti-Muslim incidents. The CFCM launched legal actions through the National Observatory to Fight Islamophobia.

The Covid19 pandemic outbreak made clear how crucial and necessary CFCM is. All observers agree that the CFCM has done an outstanding job of handling this dilemma through the numerous comments and recommendations it has provided. Thousands of meals were given out by mosques to the needy and nursing staff in response to the CFCM’s invitation. Volunteers were organized to visit the sick and grieving families. Since there was a lot of stress in the cemeteries, the CRCMs mobilized with the mayors to add more burial spaces.

It goes without saying that the CFCM needs to be held accountable for failing to live up to the aspirations of French Muslims and that criticism and inquiries about this need to be heard. Via the significant structural modifications they suggest, these new statutes specifically attempt to achieve this.

The Republic’s President, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, said on February 16, 2023, that he had decided to cease the CFCM’s participation in the State-Muslim cult discussion and replace it with a new framework.

The attendees of today’s Extraordinary General Assembly have taken note of this decision and reiterated their commitment to upholding the rights of the French Council members who serve as mosque administrators as well as the interests of the Muslim faith in general. They will employ all legal tools at their disposal to accomplish this, and they will assist all parties engaged in this effort.