Around a hundred players in the field of the Muslim faith are meeting this Saturday in Paris in the Forum de l'islam de France (Forif), a body set up by the State to obtain a more effective representation of the second religion of country.
Unprecedented, this format of dialogue is an opportunity to turn the page of the French Council for Muslim Worship (CFCM), which had been the privileged interlocutor of the public authorities since 2003, but was undermined by internal struggles.
About a hundred people - two-thirds of them heads of associations, imams, personalities locally involved in the Muslim faith and one-third of qualified personalities of national scope - had an appointment at the premises of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese) , for work in several groups.
They will share their conclusions in the afternoon during a plenary session at the end of which the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in charge of relations with religions, will speak.
These men and women were chosen by the authorities through lists from the prefectures, following "territorial bases of Islam in France", meetings held three times (2018, 2019 and 2021) in departments, on the initiative of each prefect.
Also present will be representatives of CFCM federations, as personalities, such as Mohammed Moussaoui, Abouar Kbibech and the rector of the Paris Mosque, Chems-eddine Hafiz.
The rector of the Mosque of Lyon, Kamel Kabtane, or the essayist Hakim El Karoui will also appear.
The imam of Bordeaux Tareq Oubrou, known for his independence, was finally invited to the plenary.
On the other hand, the women imames Eva Janadin and Anne-Sophie Monsinay, who defend the imamate of women, were not invited.
The “middleman” state
The CFCM, which was made up of a dozen federations mostly affiliated to former countries of origin such as Morocco, Algeria, Turkey (“consular Islam”), “no longer fulfilled its role” , said Gérald Darmanin on Friday in front of several journalists.
Already marked by internal disputes, this body has been torn in recent months around the signing of a "charter of principles" of Islam in France rejecting "political Islam" and foreign "interference".
"We thought that it was by the base that we could succeed", added Gérald Darmanin, conceding that this new formula, in which the State is only a "matchmaker", was "a test".
Several working groups
These actors have already started working for several weeks, around four themes.
According to a summary document, the first group proposed to set up "a new religious authority to support chaplaincies" military, prison, hospital, a mission hitherto provided by the CFCM.
Another is working on a statute of the imam, with a "definition" of his profession, his working time, his employment contract, his remuneration, etc.
A third group focuses on the application of the so-called law against “separatism” passed this summer, in particular on the transparency required of associations managing mosques.
Finally, a last one proposes to "set up a structure" dedicated to the security of places of worship and anti-Muslim acts". On the other hand, nothing is explicitly formulated on the financing of worship, yet sinews of war.
Annual meetings
This Forif will be intended to meet annually, in parallel with the “territorial bases”.
“The method is very good, we trust people in the field, independent,” said Hakim El Karoui, promoter for several years of a project aimed at regulating the pilgrimage and halal markets.
“It's about seeing how to do things that work.
This is the start of a process,” he said.
“This approach is a starting point,” underlines Tareq Oubrou.
In his eyes, "what is incumbent on Muslims, from now on, is to work on the content in theological matters and therefore the training of imams".
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