The Grand Mosque of Paris is angry with CNews, whose “slanderous campaign” it denounces against it

MEDIA – The Grand Mosque of Paris is up against CNews. This Monday, January 5, the famous place of worship nestled in the heart of the 5th arrondissement of the capital published a press release to denounce the “ slanderous campaign » carried out against him by the conservative news channel and “ a few low-level people ».

The starting point? “ An obscure blogger » named after Chawki Benzehra who, according to the Parisian institution, would have “ made serious accusations [à l’antenne pendant le week-end] by affirming » than the Grand Mosque of Paris « sought to destabilize France “. Chawki Benzehra is notably cited by Cnews as being a “whistleblower” who would have allowed the expulsion of two Algerian influencers who called for attacks or called for murder, on TikTok. Videos which were nevertheless also reported to the courts by other personalities, including the mayor of Montpellier.

For its part, the press release by the rector of the premises, Chems-eddine Hafiz, continues: “ A few days earlier, the former French ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt, known for his blind hostility against the country where he served, was invited to give a similar speech ».

The « poison of the far right »

The latter “ completely rejects these defamatory remarks which are part of CNews’ global strategy aimed at discriminating against all Muslims in France, denying them the simple right to exist in our country, and spreading the poison of the extreme right in our company ».

A place of meeting and culture, the Grand Mosque of Paris was built in 1922, with the mission of providing Muslims in France with a place of worship. It is not the first to have been built in the territory, but by its scale it symbolized in particular an act of recognition with regard to the thousands of Muslims who died for France during the First World War, as recounted in this article from Monde.

In his press release, Chems-eddine Hafiz, rector of the mosque since 2020, recalls that it “ is governed by an association under French law – like all mosques affiliated to it on French territory ». « This in no way prevents it from benefiting from strong and historic links with Algeria, in perfect agreement with the French State. “, he emphasizes.

The Grand Mosque ready to launch lawsuits

The campaign he denounces is not a surprise, according to him. He attributes it first to a global strategy of the chain to “ discriminate against all Muslims in France “. CNews has already been called to order in this matter. In 2019, the CSA gave her formal notice for “incitement to hatred or violence” towards Muslim people after comments by Éric Zemmour in Face the information. In 2022, anti-Muslim remarks made by Jean-Claude Dassier led to several referrals to Arcom.

For the Grand Mosque of Paris, this campaign is also “ the result of the strong positions and commitments of the Grand Mosque of Paris against the far right, particularly during the last elections of June and July 2024 “. In his weekly post in June, Chems-eddine Hafiz was, for example, openly concerned about “ significant danger » what the accession to power of Marine Le Pen’s party could represent.

As its rector points out, the place of worship does not intend to sit idly by. He reserves the right to take legal action against “ any false allegation broadcast by CNews » or through other media, “ when it harms » to his integrity and that of the Muslims he represents.

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