After a brilliant career as a consultant and executive, Jean-François Chemain voluntarily became a history teacher in the suburbs to transmit his love of France. Author of numerous works, notably on Islam in France, he analyzes the meaning of the publication of the book Muslims in the Westpublished by the Grande Mosquée de Paris.
 
The Grande Mosquée of Paris just published the book Muslims in the West (1), a guide to help Muslims in France live their faith in a way compatible with the Republic. Fruit of consultations with numerous religious, but also civil, authorities – sociologists, historians, teachers and political leaders (including two former presidents, François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy) – it is a monument of nearly 1,000 pages, with a glossary of 200 words. Everyone greets in this « code of conduct »according to the expression of rector Chems-eddine Hafiz, « a welcome initiative whose scale is unprecedented » (Franceinfo). We can only subscribe to this opinion.
A regulated religion
A quick overview of the work allows us to understand the very regulated character of a religion focused on praxis. The first term in the glossary, “ablutions”, gives us an idea: unfortunate flatulence which forces us to restart an already long and complex ritual! We are at odds with our Christian faith, which Christ delivered from the tyranny of the Law. But all this does not concern us… unlike “living together”, for which the rector invites his co-religionists to make concessions. « Our citizenship comes before everything else. […] We worked a lot on what I called the points of tension between Muslims and the rest of the national community“ he says on Franceinfo. He therefore encourages Muslims to « agree to remove their veil when faced with professional bans »recognizes that civil marriage remains superior to religious marriage and even adds that« we can blaspheme without any problem ». Ah! if Abdoullakh Anzorov, the assassin of Samuel Paty, had been able to read this earlier! Because the prescriptions of the Grand Mosque of Paris, if they comfort the followers of an “integrated” Islam, seem to contradict the evolution of Muslim society in France, especially among young people. A recent Ifop survey showed that 59% of Muslims aged 15 to 24 would be in favor of the application of sharia (Islamic law) in…
