In Lyon, the urgency of fighting against anti-Muslim acts
Before opening the exchange, Kamel Kabtane wants to read aloud a few lines of a letter received that morning. These are the worried words of an anonymous faithful who deplores an unprecedented outpouring of hatred against Muslims and firmly denounces the lack of responsiveness of their leaders.
→ READ. “People do not complain”: anti-religious acts, a phenomenon difficult to measure
“This speaks to the state of mind of the Muslim community here in recent months. I have never known France in such a state”, challenges the president of the Council of the mosques of the Rhone, in front of the deputies Isabelle Florennes (MoDem) and Ludovic Mendes (LREM). Both were received on Friday, February 4, at the French Institute of Muslim Civilization, founded by the rector of the Great Mosque of Lyon.
Ultra-right network
Since the beginning of January, the two parliamentarians have been instructed by the government to draw up an inventory of anti-religious acts committed in France and have been traveling, meeting and hearings. For local leaders of the Muslim faith, the mission is particularly ” Welcome “ to understand the scope of threats and actions against Islam, up 32% according to the latest report from the Ministry of the Interior.
While the Rhône is one of the French departments where the Muslim community is the largest and best organized, the third largest city in France also hosts “a particularly active ultra-right network”, explains Moselle deputy Ludovic Mendes.
The year 2020, marked by violence
The team was also to meet Chief Rabbi Daniel Dahan and Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon. In this pioneer territory of interreligious dialogue – “an essential tool of struggle”, for Kamel Kabtane – the three officials had given the alert, via a forum published in The Parisianend of 2020.
→ 2020. Mosque fires: the CFCM calls for “extreme vigilance”
A particularly difficult year for Muslims. In addition to the arson attacks on the Bron mosque and the Perrache prayer hall in the middle of summer, the institutions and their leaders were repeatedly targeted by tags. The Great Mosque of Lyon suffered a flood of insults, led by Generation Identity, after a call to prayer in solidarity with caregivers.
This Friday, the distress testimony of Yassine, a 38-year-old Lyonnais, reminds us that individuals are also targeted. In November 2021, this entrepreneur was starting the construction of his new house in a small town in Haute-Loire, when his construction tools were set on fire and his building permit was finally suspended by the town hall after a public meeting with residents. Unpleasant gestures can today be favored by a “outburst” in the media sphere as in the political sphere, according to Kamel Kabtane, who explains that the facts, when they become daily, are no longer even statements.
A series of recommendations for the future
This “first encounter” between religious leaders and parliamentarians, however short, a symbolic significance “essential for the morality of the community”. His goal ? “Think better about the future”, specify Ludovic Mendes and Isabelle Florennes, to whom the managers gave a series of recommendations, including “the appointment of a single interlocutor on questions relating to anti-religious acts” in public administrations, or the best training of association and religious executives or local elected officials on the prevention of these acts.
“I believe that the participation of municipalities is essential”, assures Azzedine Gaci, rector of the Othmane mosque, in Villeurbanne, and president of the Council of Rhône mosques (CTIR). At the local level, the effort is underway as evidenced by the monitoring system combined with the work of prosecutors and that of religious authorities in the departments of Rhône, Ain and Loire, “but we expect a lot from this report”. The mission ending on February 18, he should be returned at the beginning of March.