French Muslims decry government actions against Islamic schools

ISTANBUL

The French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) has expressed “a profound sense of injustice and discrimination” following administrative decisions impacting several private Islamic schools in France.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the council criticized the recent termination of state contracts with Lycee Averroes in Lille and the Al Kindi school network in Lyon.

These measures, according to the CFCM, are “widely perceived as disproportionate and unjustified” by the affected communities.

The CFCM highlighted concerns over unequal treatment, drawing attention to what it described as leniency shown to other institutions in similar situations.

“For example, the lycee Stanislas de Paris, which makes headlines for multiple controversies, has not faced comparable sanctions,” the statement noted.

This comes amid what the council described as “a broader and worrying trend of generalized suspicion towards Muslims in France.”

The CFCM warned that terms such as “separatism” and “communitarianism” are often “instrumentalized to discredit the entire Muslim community.”

Citing a recent legal victory in Nice, where a court overturned the closure of College Avicenne, the council called on affected schools to pursue justice through legal channels.

“This precedent shows that the justice system remains an essential and effective recourse for defending the rights of these institutions,” the statement emphasized.

The CFCM urged public authorities to “make decisions that are just, proportionate, and based on established facts” to avoid escalating tensions and further alienating communities.