Paris Mosque Rector Urges Equal Focus on Antisemitism and Islamophobia After PM’s CRIF Speech

In his speech, Gabriel Attal condemned the anti-Semitic acts committed in France since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7 last, but he also criticized the "moral lesson givers" - in this case, Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Insoumise, which regularly denounces a genocide in Gaza - to Israel. "When we hear the testimonies" about the Hamas attacks of October 7 last, "it is difficult to hear the moral lessons of some who are well-off and who explain to Israeli society that they are overreacting," he said. The French Prime Minister’s remarks did not fail to provoke reactions.

In a statement, the Rector of the Great Mosque of Paris says he "welcomes the declaration" of Gabriel Attal "on inter-community tensions and the need not to let political cynicism divide our society" and shares "his concern about any attempt to instrumentalize religious identities for partisan purposes". According to Chems-Eddine Hafiz, Muslims should be given the same treatment as Jews. The Prime Minister’s call "for vigilance and his condemnation must be applied fairly to all communities," he believes, adding that he has noted with "concern" the extension in the public space of the "false and contradictory concept of Muslim anti-Semitism, which unfairly stigmatizes French Muslims."

"Unfortunately, intolerance in general, and anti-Muslim acts and discourse in particular, have increased in recent months in France," Chems-Eddine Hafiz said in an interview with TSA published on April 22 last. Based on these findings, the Great Mosque of Paris "as a religious institution committed to promoting peace and tolerance" calls on "the Prime Minister and his government to set an example by explicitly and unequivocally condemning any form of discrimination and stigmatization against French Muslims."