The CFCM denounces the “disproportionate” closure of the Al Ghazali establishment in Creil

The six-month closure of the Al Ghazali Muslim school in Creil provokes the anger of the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM), which denounces a “manifestly disproportionate” decision.

In its press release, the authority first points out the immediate consequences of this measure: 258 students and their families find themselves directly affected by the prefectural decision. The CFCM does not dispute the need to enforce safety rules. But he believes that when the shortcomings can be corrected by compliance work, the outright closure of an establishment should only occur as a last resort.

Beyond the case of Al Ghazali, the Council especially denounces what it considers to be a two-tiered treatment of religious establishments in France. He recalls that in just two years, the State terminated the contracts of two Muslim establishments, Averroès in Lille and Al Kindi near Lyon, while no termination of contract with a private establishment had, according to him, been pronounced since 1991.

The CFCM also affirms that Muslim establishments are subject to particularly numerous controls and maintains that Catholic or Jewish establishments implicated for serious acts have not been subject to comparable sanctions. He cites in particular Stanislas in Paris and Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. For the organization, this succession of decisions reinforces among some Muslims in France the feeling of not benefiting from the same treatment as other citizens when it comes to denominational education.

Finally, the CFCM recalls that several administrative decisions targeting Muslim establishments have been invalidated by the courts, notably in the case of the Avicenne college. The organization is now calling for a re-examination of the Al Ghazali case, in the name of proportionality, equal treatment and the continuity of students’ education.