Observatory against radicalism, training and status of imams, better representation at the local level: it is with this program that Mohammed Moussaoui was elected, Sunday, January 19, at the head of the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM). He said he hoped to be able to raise “The challenges that are ours”.
Mr. Moussaoui, 55, was the only one in the running, and had proposed to the 87 members of the board of directors a list “Unique and consensual” for the composition of his office. She got 60 votes ” for “, any ” against “, 7 abstentions, out of a total of 67 voters. The 14 delegates from the RMF, a federation close to Morocco, which did not appear in the composition of the bureau, left before the vote.
The two vice-presidents are Chems-Eddine Hafiz, just elected new rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, and Ibrahim Alci, of the Coordination Committee of Turkish Muslims in France (CCMTF). The first, close to Algeria, had withdrawn his candidacy for the CFCM on Saturday. Both will be president of the CFCM in 2022 and 2024 respectively, under the statutes which provide for a rotating presidency within the office as was the case in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
An “observatory against radicalism”
Several files await Mr. Moussaoui while the CFCM is often criticized for its lack of representativeness, results, and remains marked by quarrels between the ten federations remained close to the countries of origin of the communities (Morocco, Algeria, Turkey…) . Main interlocutor of the public authorities for the five to six million practicing Muslims, the CFCM is notably awaited at the turn by Emmanuel Macron. The President of the Republic has indeed asked that the Council be more involved, with “Change of pace” and “A strong word”, in the fight against radicalization and communitarianism.
To implement his program, Mr. Moussaoui announced the creation of a dozen thematic commissions: “Training of imams and chaplains”, “Mosques”, “Funding”, “Religious practices”, “Science and ethics” etc. The new president elected for two years, intends to set up a “Observatory against radicalism” and “Work on the initial and continuing training of imams and chaplains”, to promote “An authentic Islam capable of preserving French youth from extremist propaganda”.
The next few months should be dense for the new CFCM president: Edouard Philippe has promised to present “By the end of March” a plan against radical Islam. And proposals from the executive are expected to guarantee the transparency of the cult’s funding.
Associate in Mathematics
The son of a teacher, born in 1964 in Figuig, Morocco, Mr. Moussaoui was already president of the CFCM from 2008 to 2013. He had left Morocco at the age of 22 for Montpellier, where he passed the aggregation in mathematics, while funding his studies by working in construction. He then became a lecturer at the University of Avignon, director of the mathematics department. This discreet man with thin glasses was naturalized in 2008.
He had theological training in traditional schools in the eastern region of Morocco, mainly in the city of Oujda. In France, he assured Friday sermons in several mosques, among others in Montpellier then Avignon. It is in this city that he will participate in the construction of a mosque, both in terms of plans, and by lending his arms.
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