Macron convenes ministers to address report alleging Muslim Brotherhood bid

22/5/2025 6:20

President Emmanuel Macron

convened senior ministers on Wednesday to address a

state-commissioned report that accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of

waging a covert campaign via local proxies to subvert France's

secular values and institutions.



The report called for action to halt what it called a

slow-burning spread of "political Islam" posing a threat to

social cohesion, drawing swift criticism from members of the

Muslim community and some academics.



Under mounting pressure from a rising far-right opposition,

Macron has undertaken a crackdown on what he calls Islamist

separatism by seeking to limit foreign influence over Muslim

institutions and communities.



Now, presidential advisers say Macron wants to tackle what

they frame as a long-term Islamist plan to infiltrate state

institutions and change them from within.



"The reality of this threat, even if it is long-term and

does not involve violent action, highlights the risk of damage

to the fabric of society and republican institutions," said an

excerpt of the report, a copy of which Reuters obtained.



The government has said it will not publish the report in

full. Macron ordered ministers to draw up measures in response

to the report for another government meeting in June.



The report said the Islamist campaign was focusing on

schools, mosques and local non-governmental organisations, with

the aim of influencing rule-making at local and national levels,

notably concerning secularism and gender equality.



The report describes the Musulmans de France (Muslims of

France) association as the "national branch" of the Muslim

Brotherhood, a global Islamist organisation that was founded in

Egypt in 1928 as part of a movement to end colonial rule.



The Brotherhood's stated goal is to establish sharia

(Islamic law) through peaceful political means. It is banned in

several Arab countries including Egypt.







DENIAL OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LINK



Musulmans de France denies belonging to the Brotherhood,

according to the report. Its leader was not immediately

available for comment.



Azzedine Gaci, head of the Villeurbanne mosque near Lyon

that is cited in the report, denied ties with the Brotherhood

and said the report was a "slap in the face" after he has worked

in close collaboration with French authorities for years.



Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, hardline Interior Minister

Bruno Retailleau said the report underlined a clear threat from

the Muslim Brotherhood. "Its ultimate goal is to shift all of

French society to sharia," he said.



France's Muslim population numbers over 6 million, the

largest in Europe.



The report's conclusions stated that no recent evidence

indicated Musulmans de France wished to establish an Islamic

state in France or enforce sharia.



Haoues Seniguer, a researcher specialising in political

Islam, said that while Musulmans de France held a conservative

vision of Islam, it had no ambition to transform French society

into an Islamic one.



"In the public debate and politicians' words, there is a

tendency to act as if the distant heirs of the Muslim

Brotherhood today had the exact same views as the founder of the

Muslim Brotherhood in 1928. (This) makes absolutely no sense."



Macron denies stigmatising Muslims and says Islam has a

place in French society. However, civic rights and Muslim groups

say the government is increasingly impinging on religious

freedom, making it harder for Muslims to express their identity.

They cite a crackdown on several Muslim schools as an example.



"Our teachings have always been respectful of republican

values," Makhlouf Mameche, head of the National Federation for

Muslim Education, told Reuters. "Our goal is to make sure our

pupils succeed."