Muslim Leader Questions Macron’s Plan to End Foreign Imam Program in France

"This is an announcement that goes in the direction of what the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) was expecting. We have known for a long time the situation of these detached imams," confided to La Dépêche the first vice-president of the CRCM, to show that this is already a shared concern. In reality, according to Abdellatif Mellouki, there are around 300 of these imams detached by their countries of origin (Morocco, Algeria and Turkey) to preach in mosques in France, according to bilateral agreements.

The problem, he points out, comes from the language, since these imams do not master French. This has led the Council to start training French Muslim imams in Morocco, since an imam who does not communicate in French to his faithful poses a real problem. According to the vice-president, since the status of imams is not clearly defined, the solution would come from the training of young eligible students for university theology scholarships in France, with a real salary. On this specific point, Abdellatif Mellouki regrets that President Macron’s statements did not include all these technical details. "The gradual end of the detached imam program by 2024 must lead to a clarification of the status of these imams," he insists.

On another aspect, Emmanuel Macron also called for greater transparency in the financing of the 2,500 places of worship that exist in France (including 15 in Toulouse). On this, Mellouki rejected the idea that places of worship are mainly financed by foreign countries. According to him, foreign participation is less than 5% of the total financing of a mosque, while the majority of the funds come from the faithful at 95%.

Furthermore, addressing the issue of the fight against sectarian drifts, the vice-president of the CRCM affirms that these are security control needs, while regretting that the security measures proposed by Macron exclude more than 97% of Muslims who nevertheless live their religion in peace and refuse stigmatization.