Imams on the ground are taking the lead. The collective of mosques and Muslim associations in France, created at the beginning of October and which brings together more than 100 places of worship across France, has just published a “charter of values” for imams.
A contribution, their members hope, to the charter of republican values to be presented shortly by the CFCM, the French council of Muslim worship – the official body representing Muslims in the country – at the request of Emmanuel Macron and the ministry of the Interior. The creation of the National Council of Imams of France is also planned, which would operate on the model of a professional order like that of lawyers or doctors, responsible for assessing the knowledge of future imams, labeling them and even to issue an official imam card.
All this, while the bill on separatism was presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, and will be debated in parliament next year.
The great mosques of Seine-Saint-Denis push the text
Among the mosques involved in the project, those of Seine-Saint-Denis, including Montfermeil and Aulnay-sous-Bois, which bring together 2,000 to 3,000 faithful, and which are among the largest in the country. Many of them are not affiliated with the CFCM, some of their managers regretting “its disconnection” from the field. In all, the collective brings together tens of thousands of faithful.
What does their charter say? It first recalls the religious values common to the signatories – “Believe in the existence and oneness of Allah, in the angels, in the books sent by him, in the prophets, in destiny and in the divine decree as well as in ‘beyond’, in particular.
Then, their adherence to the principles of the Republic. Muslim religious life, “shaped around its principles”, takes place “within the framework of the French Constitution”, which guarantees Muslims in France “the possibility of freely practicing their religion, of exercising their rights of citizenship as well. that the living together of different religions and cultures. ”Important point supported by the signatories:“ We are against all tendencies which try to harm the constitutional order ”.
“The rejection of political Islam and any foreign interference”
With regard to secularism, the charter evokes the necessary neutrality of religious communities towards the State, and vice versa. It notes the impossibility of accepting any foreign interference, the signatories of this declaration being “civil communities subject to French law who engage in religious activities for Muslims living in France”.
In addition, imams exercise their functions in accordance with beliefs but also with the Constitution, “the basis of common life”, “far from all forms of extremism” and by encouraging “interaction with the society in which they live ”. Finally, a last paragraph obliges mosques to work “in an open and transparent manner. […] “
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What, hope the signatories, meet the two imperatives formulated by the government for the drafting of the charter of the CFCM: the “rejection of political Islam and any foreign interference”.
A charter that “comes from the base”
“This is our building block. It comes from the base, from those in charge of places of worship in contact with the faithful, ”summarizes Mustapha, the rector of the mosque of Chelles (Seine-et-Marne). Objective, he said: to remember that Islam is in no way incompatible with the Republic.
“The national context, the post-attack emotion, make it necessary to take a step back and write in black and white the true values of our religion. We show, with this charter, that they are in phase with the Republic – if that were necessary ”, insists Mustapha. Who insists that “the amalgamations” between Islam and assassins, “even if the latter claim”, have no place.
“We don’t want a charter that comes from above and lands in mosques as if by magic …”
But why not wait for the charter of the CFCM, a body created in 2003 under Nicolas Sarkozy (then Minister of the Interior), bringing together nine federations of Muslim associations, but sometimes described as “an empty shell”?
“There is no will to bypass the CFCM. On the contrary, cuts Farid Kachour, responsible for the mosque of Montfermeil. But we are 150 mosques, or tens of thousands of Muslims, wanting to participate in this intellectual production. We don’t want a charter that comes from above and lands in mosques as if by magic… ”
The mosque collective sent its project to the CFCM on December 7, without obtaining a response for the moment.
When contacted, the CFCM did not respond to our requests.
Original article by : www.leparisien.fr
