French Muslim Leaders Urge Justice Minister to Boost Prison Chaplaincy Resources

During the audience, the President of the CFCM asked for a review of the status of chaplains and to "review the resources available to them". "With 270 chaplains, mostly volunteers, the interventions in the 187 penitentiary establishments are not carried out under satisfactory conditions," he said in a press release published on the institution’s website.

Mohammed Moussaoui also asked the minister to "strengthen the interaction between the national chaplaincy and the regional chaplaincies for better monitoring and sharing of experiences," adding that "the Muslim chaplaincy suffers from a significant deficit in terms of training to deal with radicalization phenomena within prisons".

The President of the CFCM also took the opportunity to ask the Keeper of the Seals "to quickly consider, as part of a more general reflection on the status of chaplains, a plan for theological and profane training".

In response to these grievances, Eric Dupond-Moretti "reaffirmed his desire to accompany a reflection on prison chaplaincy," the press release said, adding that he recalled "the need to step up efforts on the rehabilitation of detainees and the fight against radicalization in prisons." He also "expressed his willingness to maintain an open and sustained dialogue between the chaplaincies and the prison administration, a dialogue he considers essential for the improvement of prison conditions".