Global NGOs call on EU to probe French 'state-sponsored Islamophobia'
Twenty-five non-governmental organisations from eleven different countries have signed an unprecedented letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for France to be investigated by the European Court of Justice. The signatories allege systematic, state-sponsored discrimination against Muslims.
Issued on:
The letter urges immediate action against the French government for what the signatories call "state-sponsored Islamophobia" and for imposing the allegedly discriminatory charter of republican values.
The document is a key part of PresidentEmmanuel Macron's effort to isolate radical Islamists from the majority of French Muslims.
The controversial legislation was drafted in 2020 in the wake of a spate of violent crimes by individuals claiming to act in defence of Muslim values.
The law seeks to prevent radicalisation by introducing a licensing system for Muslim religious teachers, or imams, by further tightening the rules on home-schooling and increasing the penalties for such crimes as incitation to hatred.
The law also aims to identify and control foreign sources of finance for Muslim institutions and associations operating in France.
'Inherently discriminatory'
The letter to the European Commission leader claims that the legislation is inherently discriminatory, and that it makes use of Republican values to stigmatise French citizens who are Muslim.
🌍25 NGOs from 11 countries have today urged the @EU_Commission President @vonderleyen to investigate France at the European Court of Justice for systematic Islamophobia, rights violations against Muslims and imposition of discriminatory ‘Imam’s Charter’https://t.co/ZYQYuHdjaG
— CAGE (@UK_CAGE) March 8, 2021
The writers claim that the republican charter censors free speech in defiance of European law, and that the legislation's insistence on the independence of state and religion makes the proper practise of Islam impossible in France.
They accuse France of violating the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and flouting the European Convention on Human Rights.
The signatories include representatives of CRAN, the French Council of Black Associations, the Swiss Central Islamic Council, the Islamic Council of Victoria in Australia and the London-based Muslim Public Affairs Committee.
In January, the French Council of the Muslim Faith adopted the Republican charter. Attempts have already been made to condemn the legislation at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe