The French Islam Forum (Forif) announced that it had launched a national consultation of leaders of the Muslim faith on Wednesday July 22 with a view to “building” a future representative body.
“Open to all mosque leaders and presidents of local representative associations”, this consultation “questions them in an unprecedented way about their expectations, their needs and the place they wish to take in the future national body of Muslim worship”, writes Forif in a press release.
“Far from being limited to a representation function, the future body will first and foremost be a service body: support for places of worship, training, denominational squares, support for local structures, dialogue with public authorities and interreligious dialogue,” according to this document. The lessons from the consultation will be made public in the fall of 2026 and “will directly feed into the foreshadowing of the body,” continues Forif.
Law against “separatism”
“The legitimacy of the future body will be based on clear principles: an open national consultation, representation from the territories, an inclusive consultation framework, democratic and transparent governance, and independence from any external influence,” recalls the organization.
A forum for dialogue launched in February 2022 by the Minister of the Interior at the time, Gérald Darmanin, the Forif was in the wake of the so-called law against “separatism”, adopted in August 2021 to ensure respect for the principles of the Republic and reform the religious regime.
This forum succeeded the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), which had been the privileged interlocutor of the public authorities since 2003, but was undermined by internal struggles. The CFCM, however, has continued to exist in a different form since then, and is expressed regularly.
