French Muslim Leader Calls for Unity: Islam, Republic, and the Fight Against Islamophobia

"The Muslims of France are in danger! My book is not a trial of the Republic, it is a call for it to take the appropriate measures to stop this. It must care for all its children, without fear of naming things. Since François Bayrou described the murder of Aboubakar Cissé as Islamophobic, I allow myself this term," said Chems-eddine Hafiz in an interview with Le Parisien, thus alluding to the multiplication of Islamophobic acts in France in recent months, including the murders of Aboubakar Cissé and Hichem Miraoui, both of Muslim faith.

Commenting on the report on the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood, in which he was implicated regarding imams affiliated with the Great Mosque, he assures that he has no connection with the Muslim Brotherhood. "I have never been contacted by the police about this! I have no ambiguity: I have always fought political Islam, and I have no connection with the Muslim Brotherhood. By creating such a shortcut, this report - revealed the day after the burial of Aboubakar Cissé - manufactures an enemy within: the Muslim."

He denounces the conflation between Islam and Islamism. According to him, separatism exists in France. "[...] I denounced it very early on. Those who say otherwise are in denial. The result is that Muslims are caught between the far right and the extremism of this minority from our own community," he says, while noting that attacks on Muslims have increased since 2021. "The ideas of the far right have seeped in, and other parties are chasing after them. There must be an enemy: the Muslim," laments the former lawyer.

Furthermore, Hafiz firmly rejects the term "Muslim anti-Semitism." "Nothing in our religious corpus allows a Muslim to be anti-Semitic. Under the Occupation, the Great Mosque saved hundreds of Jews by issuing them certificates to make them believe they were Muslim. Alas, today there are impulsive people who attack Jews, which I condemn. But let’s not make this a general truth."