The Forum de l'islam de France held its first plenary session
The Forif was launched at the Palais de Iéna in Paris, this Saturday, February 5, 2022, to open a new page in the structuring of Muslim worship.
AFP - GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
A hundred leaders of mosques, imams, members of civil society and association leaders, from all over the country, met this Saturday, February 5 at the initiative of the State to guarantee better representation of the second religion of France.
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On paper, the Forif, Forum de l'islam de France, will have to take the place of privileged interlocutor of the public authorities.
It should replace the CFCM.
This forum is an initiative of the Ministry of the Interior which has chosen the hundred members, and if he repeats over and over again that he does not wish to interfere in the affairs of Islam, Minister Gérald Darmanin therefore acts the end of a system put in place 20 years ago.
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The CFCM will have fulfilled its role and therefore we have drawn a conclusion,
" said the minister.
We have been working on this for a year. And the independent mosques which represent over 60% of the mosques which are not affiliated with a federation, I believe, are happy that we are opening up the field of representatives today.
»
We need a representation closer to the field, less Parisian.
The observation is shared by Mohamed Moussaoui, the president for a few more days of the CFCM.
However, he fears that Forif cannot tackle all the problems: “
A participatory approach, which relies on local actors and not on federations, that, I think, is the central point.
Afterwards, the question of financing was not mentioned and I think that without resolving the question of financing, all the proposals will not be able to prosper.
»
Forif is in fact made up of four working groups and this question is not addressed, even if it is not excluded to integrate it in the future.
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To read also: A "forum" for the future of Islam in France, the country's second religion
“A place of exchange, a place of reflection”
In this context, the creation of Forif is a good thing for Kamel Kabtane, the rector of the Great Mosque of Lyon, even if in his eyes, there are still things to improve to better represent the community.
I think we clarified things today [...] Forif is not the representation of Muslims, it is a place of exchange, a place of reflection, a place that will allow people to better get to know each other, perhaps to be the interlocutors of tomorrow.
Kamel Kabtane, rector of the Great Mosque of Lyon
Simon Roze
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To listen and read also: France: what representation for the Muslim faith?
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