The Grand Mosque of Paris expressed concern on Friday about the “progressive liberation” of a “racist and hateful speech against Muslims in France,” calling on the authorities to combat this phenomenon “which dangerously exacerbates tensions in our country.”
“The Grand Mosque of Paris is extremely concerned about the sharp rise in acts and discourse that harm groups, individuals, and property based on their religious affiliations, regardless of what they may be, in France,” said Rector Chems-eddine Hafiz in a statement. This resurgence “undermines religious coexistence and dangerously exacerbates tensions in our country, at a time of unbearable tragedy unfolding in the Near East,” added the official, who urged the authorities to “take all necessary measures” to fight against this phenomenon.
The rector is concerned about the increase “in acts and discourse against Muslims” and denounces “the progressive and alarming liberation of an essentialist, stigmatizing, racist, and hateful speech against Muslims in France.”
“Stigmatizing our Muslim fellow citizens”
The Grand Mosque is particularly alarmed by “scandalous and reprehensible statements” made “by certain political and media figures,” with the intention, according to the mosque, “to stigmatize our Muslim fellow citizens and exclude them from the national community.”
On Wednesday, the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) had already denounced statements by lawyer Arno Klarsfeld targeting “an active Muslim minority.” “This kind of shocking and unjustifiable declaration can only expose Muslims in France to hatred,” the CFCM stated. The French audiovisual and digital regulation authority (Arcom) has recently been seized with declarations by Arno Klarsfeld, as well as those of editorialist Pascal Perri, who mentioned on LCI channel an “antisemitism couscous,” for which he apologized on X (formerly Twitter).
Since the bloody attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, the conflict has resulted in at least 1,400 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to the authorities. In the Gaza Strip, more than 9,000 people, including 3,760 children, have been killed in Israeli bombings, according to a Hamas count.
