(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/27/21) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a ruling by France’s top administrative court, the Council of State, upholding the government’s December 2020 dissolution of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF).
CCIF is that nation’s leading Muslim civil rights organization defending French Muslims from discrimination. NOTE: CCIF has reconstituted in another European country and continues to track anti-Muslim bigotry in France.
SEE: French Court Confirms Dissolution of Anti-Discrimination Group
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/27/french-court-confirms-dissolution-anti-discrimination-group#
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We condemn this latest Islamophobic action by the French state and stand in solidarity with France’s Muslim community as it is increasingly targeted not only by discriminatory state actions, but also by the bigotry that those actions enable and excuse.”
He noted that late last year, CAIR offered office space and logistical resources in its Capitol Hill headquarters in Washington, D.C., to CCIF, which was falsely accused of spreading “Islamist propaganda.” In fact, CCIF’s main function is monitoring growing Islamophobia in France.
SEE: CAIR Offers DC Office Space to French Muslim Civil Rights Group Closed in Islamophobic Crackdown
The dissolution of CCIF is just part of a series of Islamophobic measures by the French government in recent years that violate the rights of religious freedom of French Muslims.
SEE: CAIR Renews Call for State Department to Designate France Among Countries of Particular Concern After France Terminates Imams for Reciting Quran
BACKGROUNDER:
Over the past 20 years, France has implemented numerous laws designed to limit and punish the free exercise of religion, especially among Muslims. France has dismissed Islamic religious leaders and banned students, teachers, and public servants from wearing visible signs of their faith, including hijabs, at school or at work.
SEE: France closes down Muslim publishing house for promoting Islamic history
French law also forbids people from wearing religious face veils in public, while simultaneously requiring them to wear medical face masks. Muslim women in some areas of France have also been fined by police for wearing full-body swimsuits.
President of France Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech about the French Muslim community in which he claimed that “Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country” and has expressed concern of “Islamic separatism” and called to “liberate” Islam.
CAIR issued a travel advisory warning American Muslims against traveling to France amid the French government’s “hypocritical and dangerous” campaign of Islamophobic bigotry targeting French Muslims, mosques and Islamic organizations.
SEE: CAIR Warns American Muslims Against Travel to France, Condemns Macron’s ‘Hypocritical’ Attempt to Suppress Boycott Campaign
CAIR also condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to dictate the principles of the Islamic faith after he issued an ultimatum to French Muslim leaders to draw up a charter in 15 days that would falsely state that Islam is an “apolitical religion.”
SEE: CAIR Condemns President Macron’s Attempt to Dictate Islamic Principles to French Muslims
The Washington, D.C.-based civil rights organization also called on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIFR) to investigate France’s ongoing campaign of “collective punishment” against the French Muslim community, as well as France’s longstanding history of turning anti-religious bigotry into government policy.
SEE: CAIR Calls on U.S. Religious Freedom Commission (USCIFR) to Probe France’s Anti-Religion Laws and ‘Collective Punishment’ of French Muslim Community
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw, 202-999-8292, [email protected]