the French Council of Muslim Faith adopts a new mode of governance

The reform of the governance mode was one of the decisions of the extraordinary general assembly held by the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM), on March 12, 2023. On January 20, 2024, a new electoral regulation was adopted which, according to the communicated, “will trust the players in the field elected by their peers. »

The new governance will be based on two principles: departmentalization and the end of the co-optation system. Proximity, first of all, with the field, thanks to representatives from the grassroots, will require recognition of the departmental structures in which all mosques in France can sit. Through this, the CFCM hopes “give back the voice to those on the ground, elected by their peers, who will have the necessary and sufficient legitimacy to defend the interests of the Muslim faith”specifies the press release.

Elections in 2024

There “end of the co-optation system”, then: in spring 2023, the CFCM unanimously adopted these new statutes among its members, opening the way to a new form of representation of Muslim worship in France. By opting for an electoral process open to all mosques in France, the new CFCM wants to put an end to the system of co-optation of half of its members by so-called statutory federations of mosques attached to the countries of origin (Algeria, Morocco, Turkey) . “This method of designation, judged by many actors in the field as arbitrary and undemocratic, had discredited the CFCM and seriously hampered its functioning”it is specified in the text distributed by Mohammed Moussaoui, co-president of the CFCM

1,100 mosques participated in the last CFCM elections in 2020. The Council, in its new organization, aims to bring together all the mosques in France: “By joining massively, they will give it the means and the strength to act in the service of the Muslims of France. » The next elections will take place in 2024. Finally, the assembly on Saturday January 20 was an opportunity to decide on the reorganization of the National Observatory to Combat Islamophobia at the departmental and national levels.