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The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has presented President Emmanuel Macron with its plan to vet and authorize teachers of the Islamic faith
By Mélinée Le Priol | France
Muslim leaders in France have approved a plan to train and certify imams as a way to vet and authorize the foreign-born clerics to practice on French soil.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) announced its proposal on November 18, several weeks after President Emmanual Macron told its leaders they had the "immense responsibility" to come up with a plan within six months "at most".
"We are going to put immense pressure on them, because we have no right to fail," the head of state had warned the CFCM in a speech on October 2.
Was the Council's announcement a result of Macron's "pressure"?
In any case, the CFCM leaders went to the Élysée Palace to present the government with their plan for a national council of imams.
Many observers of Islam in Francie hailed the development as "good news", though some were surprised that the announcement had already been made -- and, what's more, so late in the evening.
Similar to the Bar Association, this new body will issue imams with an official card. It can withdraw certification in the event of a breach of a charter and a code of ethics, which remain to be drawn up.
Depending on their role (imams who lead the prayer, imams who preach and imams who are lecturers), different levels of knowledge of French and diplomas will be required, which may go as far as university training.
The French government hopes that the proposed plan will achieve at least two things.
The first is to compensate for the recently announced suppression of foreign "sponsored imams", which is not due to take effect until 2024.
Currently, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco send about 300 imams to France each year and also pay their salaries.
The second hope-for result of vetting the Muslim clerics is that will curb the sometimes dramatic excesses of "self-proclaimed" imams.
From the theologian armed with diplomas to the simple believer invested by his community, imams practicing in France have not been required to follow a specific training. This question, like that of their legal status, is one of the thorniest -- and most recurring -- issues in French Islam.
Within two weeks, the leaders of the CFCM will return to the Élysée Palace.
This time it will be to commit themselves to the "charter of Republican values" -- Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité -- again at the request of the government.
This has caused controversy among some, who have called it "interference" or even "colonial management" of the Muslim faith by the state.
"It is, perhaps, not pleasant, since this charter is not required from other religions," said Ghaleb Bencheikh, president of the Foundation for Islam in France.
"But a clear commitment by French imams to freedom of conscience and equality among all human beings is obviously necessary," he said on November 19 on social media.
As for fraternity, the third part of France's motto, Bencheikh said is already honored "in abundance" in the Muslim tradition.
Harmonizing the existing training
President Macron said on November 18 that three of the nine member federations of the CFCM do not have "a republican vision".
Most notable are the Milli Görüs, that are close to Turkey, and the French Muslims (former UOIF), that are close to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Macron said these federations must "leave behind these ambiguities".
"We are sometimes victims of a certain image, for political ends," Ahmed Jaballah, former president of the UOIF, told La Croix.
This controversial federation is, in any case, particularly concerned by the current situation, having paved the way for the training of imams on French soil in 1992 with the European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH).
A second branch, headed by Jaballah, was opened at the beginning of last summer. But its endowment fund is currently undergoing a financial investigation.
Linked to the different federations of the CFCM, a handful of private institutions exist today in France, even though the imams still mostly go through Islamic universities abroad.
The challenge for the CFCM is now to harmonize these French training courses in order to set up a "common curriculum" made up of bridges and equivalencies, which will allow for the certification of imams.
Beyond wishful thinking, the gamble is a sizable one for the Muslim faith in France, which has been undermined for decades by internal squabbles and divisions.
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