France’s Muslim Council Slams Controversial Poll for Fueling Islamophobia
The CFCM issued a strong response Thursday to an Ifop survey, saying it reinforces “stigma” and worsens a climate of social hostility toward Muslims in France, Anadolu Agency reported.
The poll, commissioned by the magazine Écran de veille, was framed as assessing the relationship between French Muslims, Islam, and Islamism. But the CFCM said it is instead another means of marginalizing Muslim citizens and their religious practices.
The council argued that some of the poll’s conclusions — and how they have been interpreted — are already being used by anti-Muslim groups to frame Muslims as an internal threat to French society.
The statement also raised questions over the survey’s methodology. The CFCM said its design leads to “approximate, erroneous, and scientifically weak” results.
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The council highlighted what it described as a response bias in how younger and older respondents answer — suggesting older Muslims may underreport their religious practices, while younger people may overstate them in reaction to stigmatization.
One particular poll result drew sharp criticism: the finding that around 35 percent of Muslims attend Friday prayers, equating to roughly two million people. The CFCM said this contradicts the practical capacity of French mosques, which they estimate can accommodate under 500,000 worshippers.
On other issues, the CFCM pushed back against interpretations that pit French law against Islamic practices—for instance, over ritual slaughter. The council emphasized that such practices are legal in France and apply to both Muslim and Jewish communities.
In closing, the CFCM urged careful interpretation of survey data on sensitive religious matters, calling on policymakers, media, and the public to act responsibly.
According to a recent Ifop survey commissioned by the Observatory of Discrimination Against Muslims in France, 82 percent of French Muslims say hatred toward them is widespread, and 66 percent say they have personally faced racist acts in the last five years.
The same survey found high rates of discrimination in key areas: 51 percent reported bias in employment, 46 percent in housing, and large shares also cited prejudice in public services — 36 percent for public administration, 29 percent for healthcare, and 38 percent for education.
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Meanwhile, a French Interior Ministry report showed a stark rise in anti-Muslim incidents: personal attacks against Muslims more than tripled in early 2025, and anti-Muslim acts overall increased significantly compared to 2024.
On a broader institutional level, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) recently updated its anti-Muslim hatred database, documenting patterns of hate crime, discrimination, and judicial trends targeting Muslims in Europe, including France.
The murder of Aboubakar Cissé, a young Muslim worshipper stabbed in a mosque earlier in 2025, also sparked national debate about Islamophobia, underlining the risk and vulnerability faced by France’s Muslim communities.
These developments frame the CFCM’s concerns about the poll not simply as academic, but as part of a larger struggle with growing Islamophobia in France.
Source: Agencies
