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El Chorouk
23-06-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
French report downplays 'Islamophobia' compared to antisemitism
The Dean of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Shams Eddine Hafiz, questioned the official figures for anti-Muslim acts (Islamophobia) in France, stating that they are lower than the reality, citing the brutal assassination of two members of the Muslim community in the country within less than two months during the current year 2025. Shams Eddine Hafiz's questioning of the official figures regarding the targeting of Muslims came after the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights issued its annual report on the tolerance of the French people towards minorities and racial discrimination. This activity relates to the human rights situation in France, which revealed figures that give the impression that the Jewish community is the most affected by acts of hatred, compared to members of the Muslim community, who constitute more than ten percent of the population in France. Shams Eddine Hafiz believes, in an interview with the newspaper 'Ouest France', that 'Islamophobia' has witnessed a remarkable growth throughout Europe, especially since October 7, 2023, the date that marks the attack carried out by the Palestinian resistance against the Zionist occupation army in the settlements surrounding the besieged Gaza Strip. The report issued by the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights placed the Jewish community in France as the most targeted by threats labeled as 'antisemitism', while acts targeting the Muslim community come in second place in terms of number. In 2024, the French Ministry of Interior recorded 173 cases targeting members of the Muslim community, and two brutal murders were committed, which have a clear connection to the religious dimension. The Dean of the Paris Grand Mosque attributes the low number of acts related to Islamophobia to the victims of this phenomenon not reporting them, unlike members of other communities, especially the Jewish one, which explains their high number, as also indicated by the report issued by the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights. Shams Eddine Hafiz reveals that he himself was subjected to acts related to hatred of Islam and Muslims. The incident, as he said, occurred in a French restaurant, and the perpetrator was a French husband, which indicates that the incident has a discriminatory racial dimension, as the party that committed the act is not related to one person only, which gives it another, more dangerous dimension. The seriousness of the acts threatening members of the Muslim community is confirmed by the two brutal murders, which claimed the life of the young Malian Muslim, Abu Bakr Sisi, who was subjected to about 57 treacherous stab wounds on April 25 last, in a French mosque while he was prostrating. Also, the young Tunisian, Hisham Mirawi, was subjected to an assassination on May 31 last, on the basis of religion or race. The criminals were charged with terrorism, while a terrorist group, formed to kill Muslims and planned to poison halal food, is being prosecuted. The report revealed shocking figures regarding the French perception of immigrants. 60 percent of those surveyed believed that immigrants come to France to benefit from social security, and 46 percent of French people consider immigration to be the main cause of insecurity, and 36 percent of them believe that Jews have a special relationship with money, while Roma remain the most rejected minority. The report also discussed the repercussions of racism on immigrants, stating that it leaves harmful effects on the mental and physical health of victims, such as isolation, anxiety, and depression.
LeMonde
19-06-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Tolerance holding up in France despite hate speech, report on racism finds
'Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité' by the American artist Shepard Fairey (known as Obey), Rue Nationale, Paris. HENRI GARAT/MAIRIE DE PARIS "Tolerance is resisting." It is resisting against the "discourses of mistrust and hate speech" targeting minorities that are spread in certain political and media spheres. It is holding firm in a political climate that often "places blame on immigrants for society's problems." And it is withstanding the "waning commitment" from public authorities to the fight against all forms of racism and discrimination, according to the annual report of the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) on combating racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, published Wednesday, June 18. Acceptance of people who are different by their origin, skin color or religion grew in 2024, the report finds, though prejudices have not disappeared. Stereotypes are deeply rooted, especially for those over the age of 60. The main tool for measuring the decline of intolerance is the longitudinal tolerance index (ILT), which combines responses to 75 questions regularly asked in face-to-face interviews since 1990, from a sample of 1,210 people representative of the adult population living in mainland France. Almost a third of the respondents have at least one parent or grandparent born abroad. The index ranges from 0 to 100. In 2023, in the specific context following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, the ILT dropped by three points in one year, from 65 to 62. This year, it rose by one point, confirming an overall upward trend over the past 35 years: The ILT has gone from a low of 46 in 1991 to a high of 65 in 2022. You have 76.88% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
