And while Hafiz says he “was the first to condemn Islamist terrorism and his mosque was at the heart of work to combat radicalisation in France,” he also condemns “certain candidates” who have “spoken of the ‘problem’ of Islam, linking Islam to immigration or to terrorism….at every election in France.”

His words disconnecting Islam from terrorism and ignoring the hijrah are clichés. There are 1400 years of proof of a link between Islam and violence and terrorism. Unvetted mass migration into France has seen jihadists and Islamic supremacists infiltrate refugee streams. Masses of illegal economic Muslim migrants have also entered Western countries.

The problems of jihad preaching in mosques (many of which are funded by foreign interests), of Islamic supremacists persistently attacking the freedom of speech, and of the general lack of action by Muslims against jihadis is obvious. The Sharia, which is considered to be divine law in Islam, is not compatible with the principles of free societies in the West, so those who abide by the aspects of Sharia which are incompatible with democracy present a problem that is in need of public discussion. Yet such discussions are deemed “Islamophobic” by Islamic supremacists and their Leftist allies.

Muslims are not hated for merely being Muslim. Some people protest the persistent efforts by Islamic leaders to encroach upon the freedom of expression. France has suffered the most horrifying jihad attacks and assaults against human rights. Teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded for insulting Muhammad. A priest was beheaded during mass (he was on a jihadi hit list of Catholic churches), and the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 left 17 dead and at least 22 injured.

There has also been a string of other jihad attacks: stabbings on public transit, vehicle rammings, shootings, bomb plots. Jihad Watch has a file on the schoolgirl Mila, who had to go into hiding amid the most violent threats because she offended Islam online, calling it a “religion of hate.” 11 Muslims were ultimately convicted for threatening and tormenting Mila, who stated that she felt as if she had been condemned to death, and indeed she was.

Quran 8:12 – “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.”

The collective Muslim response has been most disturbing. In response to the gruesome slaughter of Paty, the outcry from Muslims was against France and Emmanuel Macron for honoring Paty’s right to exercise his freedom of speech. They showed no anger toward the jihadis who plotted Paty’s murder and executed him.

Hafiz should be opposing the persistent Islamic attacks on French society and protecting French values, if he indeed regards Muslims as “children of the Republic.” But that would depend on what he means by “children of the Republic.” Does he respect French culture, its constitution, its history, and its right to the freedom of expression? Does he view Muslims as equals to non-believers? These are key questions. The French constitution separates religion and the state, and regards the freedom of expression as a core principle of the French state.

Islamic leaders have been infringing upon the rights and principles of free societies all over the West. No other religion besides Islam poses a danger to citizens whenever Islam is insulted or its adherents are offended. In fact, Jews are leaving France in droves to escape violent Islamic antisemitism. And when they make aliyah to Israel, they are still in danger, because of the Islamic jihad against the State of Israel, which is nearly universally presented as a “resistance” against Israeli oppression. 

“Anti-Islam rhetoric in French election risks ‘spiral of hatred’, says Paris mosque rector,” by Angelique Chrisafis, Guardian, March 27, 2022:

“I’m extremely worried,” said Chems-eddine Hafiz, the rector of Paris’s historic Grande Mosquée. “We’re in a society that is fractured and searching for itself, a society that is weakened and fearful after the pandemic. The fact of looking for a scapegoat – there have been precedents to that: in 1930 when the finger began to be pointed at Jews who became ‘the problem of a whole society’ … Today it’s no longer Jews, it’s Muslims … I thought in the 21st century we’d be safe from that type of discourse.”

Hafiz published a book this month, With All Due Respect, We’re Children of the Republic, to counter what he called heightened anti-Muslim rhetoric sweeping across the French right during the election campaign….

All candidates on the right have referenced a mood of fear in France after the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris 2015 and the horror of the decapitation of a French secondary schoolteacher, Samuel Paty, in 2020.

Hafiz said he was the first to condemn Islamist terrorism and his mosque was at the heart of work to combat radicalisation in France. But he feared that the majority of law-abiding Muslim French citizens were being conflated with terrorist attacks, despite often being the victims of terrorism themselves.

“For several years now, at every election in France, certain candidates have spoken of the ‘problem’ of Islam, linking Islam to immigration or to terrorism,” he told the Guardian.

“French Muslims have faced stigmatisation or insults or the view that Islam is incompatible with the rules of the French Republic, or with the west. But in this election, it’s much more serious because there is a candidate who completely lets loose and talks of the ‘great replacement’ and who affirms with vehemence that Islam and Muslims can’t stay in France, that their place is elsewhere, and if they want to stay in this country they must no longer practise their religion.”

Hafiz said other candidates on the right appeared to compete with Zemmour on Islam, such as during Les Républicains’ internal primary race to choose a candidate.