Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin launched on Monday the second session of the work of the Forum for Islam in France (Forif), which he encouraged to structure itself as a federation and to work towards a “status of the imam” .
“Work within six months on the creation” of such a status
“There will now be a status of imam in France,” affirmed Gérald Darmanin during a press conference, asking Forif to “work within six months on the creation” of such a status. If it is up to Muslims to “determine the religious status” of imams, this involves social protection on the secular side, with imams hired by mosques or associations, and by a level of linguistic and academic requirements, relying on of the 34 “secularism” training courses currently accessible.
Gérald Darmanin also pleaded for a structuring of Islam which “comes from the departments”, like what has already been achieved in “more than 40” of them. But “it is not up to the State to preside over this structuring”, he added, encouraging Forif to organize itself “as there is a federation of Protestants” in France. The minister also expressed his desire to move forward on the issue of confessional squares in cemeteries. “By July 1 (…) we will ensure that access to a grave is no longer a subject for our compatriots,” he promised.
Another promise is the doubling to one million euros per year of funds allocated to securing Muslim places of worship. “I asked the prefects to systematically support project leaders,” he said. In 2023, with 242 acts recorded, “anti-Muslim acts increased by almost 30%”, he added, specifying that “more than half” of these acts were committed during the last three months, ” which shows that the conflict in the Middle East has obvious resonances on our soil.”
On this point, the minister welcomed the birth in February of the Association for the Defense against Discrimination and Anti-Muslim Acts (ADDAM), which “aims to ensure better reporting” of anti-Muslim acts “which are clearly still underestimated” . The Forif was launched in February 2022 by Gérald Darmanin in the wake of Emmanuel Macron’s speech at Les Mureaux, where he outlined his policy against radical Islam in 2020. This second session brought together at the Ministry of the Interior 86 field actors designated by the prefects (associations, religious people, lawyers, members of civil society, etc.)