The Grande Mosquée de Paris, November 1, 2025. GUILLAUME BAPTISTE/AFP
The idea had been on his mind since he took over as head of the Grande Mosquée de Paris in 2020. After several years and hundreds of hours of hearings, consultations and reflection, the teams led by Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of this prominent Muslim place of worship in the French capital, presented on Tuesday, February 10, their new guide, titled "Muslims in the West." Its goal is to adapt Muslim religious discourse to French society and culture. The 1,000-page volume is described as a kind of "road map" so that, as Hafiz explained, Muslims can live out their faith in France peacefully.
The project originated, according to the mosque's rector, in his perception of "a disastrous image of Islam" in the eyes of the general public. France has emerged from a decade marked by Islamist attacks, where terrorists used religion to justify their violence. As a result, he observed, practicing Muslims are often wrongly conflated with these acts and become victims of suspicion in spite of themselves.
At first, when the project got underway in January 2023, the main aim was to engage in a collective reflection on the points of friction between Islam and the Republic. This took the form of a glossary of terms covering Muslim concepts that are often misunderstood. "My idea," Hafiz explained, "was to debate these points of tension. We need to explain Islam to the Republic and explain the Republic to Muslims."
