‘Religion of consulates’ rejected: French efforts to control Islamic discourse

After the marked increase in hate crimes that spread in the West by Muslims and others, France has sought to legalize the role of associations and organizations that present themselves as the only resource for Islam, especially since these entities were known to be biased and affected by some extremist rhetoric, in addition to the intervention of countries in financing Islamic associations and serving specific agendas. As a result, Paris announced that it is dealing with Islam not as a foreign religion, but rather the number two religion in the country, and called for a complete break with what it calls “the religion of the consulates.”

France formed the Forum of Islam, which is a body established by the state to ensure a more legitimate and effective representation of the country's second largest religion. The forum is an opportunity to turn the page on the French Council of the Muslim Faith, the official state entity since 2003 that has faced a major internal crisis. The forum, which was held a few days ago, includes about a hundred personalities, two-thirds composed of officials of organizations, imams and people involved in local Muslim communities, and the remaining third of personalities with representation at the national level.

The year 2021 may have been decisive in the work of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, especially after the French government requested the adoption of the Charter of the Principles of French Islam, which prohibits the intervention of foreign countries and reconfirms the compatibility of Islam with the principles of the French Republic. In mosques, it re-establishes the duties of preachers and also protects mosques from any attack that threatens the security of Muslims. The idea of the forum came to be implemented, and a plan was put in place to organize it once a year to discuss the affairs of Muslims in French society.

Fighting Islamic isolationism

French President Emmanuel Macron's statements about what he called Islamic isolationism raised the fears of many that it was a pretext for imposing restrictions on Muslims, as Macron announced that the charter that he would like to draft requires greater integration and openness to other religions for those who follow the Islamic faith, rather than refusing to integrate and form what resembles a “ghetto” in more than one city. It also decided to end the activity of 300 foreign imams sent by Turkey, Morocco and Algeria within four years.

In this regard, Amal Mokhtar, a researcher in the affairs of extremism and violence at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said that France is focusing on ending the state of separatism through executive measures such as issuing laws, conducting raids on mosques and banning associations. She criticized the failure to address the reasons that made a number of French citizens separated, in reference to the failure of integration policies within France.

Mokhtar added in a study entitled “Dimensions of the controversy over the draft law to strengthen the principles of the republic in France” that a new law is moving towards codifying the idea of the responsibility of some religious institutions or persons for terrorist acts, even if they are not carrying arms, under the clause of incitement to violence and providing an incubating environment for radical ideas.