Abdelali Mamoun, the imam of the Great Mosque of Paris, questioned on RMC on Tuesday the number of antisemitic acts committed in France since the attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7. His comments were responded to by Gérald Darmanin and the rector of the Great Mosque.
“Where are these 1,200 antisemitic acts in France?”. On Tuesday, November 14, Abdelali Mamoun, imam of the Great Mosque of Paris, sparked controversy. On RMC, he indirectly questioned the 1,518 antisemitic acts recorded in France by the Ministry of the Interior since the attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7.
“I’m not saying the numbers are false, but they are not revealed, apparent. I would have wanted us to say that such synagogue or cemetery has been desecrated, that such an individual of Jewish faith has been attacked or threatened,” he said, while asking for “concrete elements.”
The imam’s remarks did not go unnoticed. Later in the day, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke out on this issue. The government member said he “totally disapproves” of these “very shocking insinuations.”
The Great Mosque distances itself
These comments did not only catch the attention of the Interior Minister. The Great Mosque of Paris released a statement at midday in which it “denies the comments made by Mr. Abdelali Mamoun”.
She also reminds us that the imam “is not the spokesperson for the Great Mosque of Paris” and “speaks in the media on a personal basis.”
“Following this program, I spoke with Abdelali Mamoun. The latter assured me that he ‘regrets having been very confused’ while he did not intend to ‘call into question the alarming figures of these antisemitic acts in France,'” wrote the rector of the Great Mosque, Chems-eddin Hafiz, in this statement.
The Muslim body says it does not deny or minimize “all antisemitic acts that have occurred in France in recent weeks,” while expressing its confidence in the “figures released by the ministry” on this matter.
564 anti-Christian acts, 131 anti-Muslim acts
On RMC, Abdelali Mamoun asked for clarification on the recorded acts of antisemitism. In a transparency effort, Gérald Darmanin provided the details of anti-religious acts known to Beauvau, “so that the facts are evident.”
In this report, we learn that in France, since the beginning of the year, 1,762 antisemitic acts have been recorded. In the same period, 564 anti-Christian acts and 131 anti-Muslim acts were recorded. The ministry also indicates that 11% of the acts are recorded in Paris, far ahead of the Rhône (5%) and Hauts-de-Seine (5%).
