Paris Mosque dean calls for end to accusations of Anti-Semitism against Muslims
Muslims protest against the closure of a prayer room in the Paris suburb of Clichy la Garenne, Friday, Nov. 10, 2017. Tensions have erupted as residents and the mayor of a Paris suburb tried to block the town’s Muslims from praying in the street in a dispute that reflects nationwide problems over mosque shortages. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The dean of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Shams al-Din Hafez, has called for refraining from “confusing” and accusing Muslims of “anti-Semitism.”
This comes in an article published by the French newspaper Le Monde on Saturday, amidst the ongoing controversy in France regarding the war in Gaza.
Hafez wrote, “In the current poisoned atmosphere, racist speeches are emerging again in the public space. The relevant authorities have warned against mixing issues and accusing Muslims of being responsible for the pains of our society, especially anti-Semitism.”
He expressed “condemnation of any harm to Jews in France as well as Muslims in France” and “rejected the importation of a conflict in the Middle East that has no religious or cultural character.”
