09 November 2012

French Muslims call on Hollande to speak out on Islamophobia

Leaders of the Muslim umbrella body, the CFCM, which was set up by former president Nicolas Sarkozy when he was interior minister, met Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Thursday to call for action against what they claim is a rise in Islamophobia.

They called on Hollande to condemn it in a “solemn declaration”, similar to his call for the fight against anti-Semitism to become a “national cause”.

Islamophobic incidents rose 34 per cent in 2011 and 14 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, according to Abdellah Zekri of the CFCM’s Observatory of Islamophobia. [AFP] Read more