Imam faces death threats
A FRENCH imam known for his involvement in interfaith initiatives said he and his family have been living under threat from Islamists for years, after calling for commemorations of the Holocaust to be respected.
According to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute, in an interview with France 2 TV, Hassen Chalghoumi recalled, “I made a solemn appeal to respect the memory of the Holocaust, to also think about what people did to their fellow human beings, the consequences of racism, hatred, antisemitism … But unfortunately, my words were misunderstood. Two days later, they ransacked my house.”
He added, “I started to receive death threats in the name of a cause that has nothing to do with [my words] – the Palestinian cause, in the name of an ideology of hatred, perhaps against Israeli policy, or out of actual antisemitism.
“And then I received anonymous calls and letters. In 2009, they torched my car, and they attacked my house.”
Many of the death threats Chalghoumi has received have been over his friendly ties with CRIF, the umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, and for visiting Israel several times.
During a tour of the West Bank with settler leaders in 2019, Chalghoumi said support of boycotts of Israel ran against Koranic law, and that he hopes to encourage dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians so “no mother – not Israeli nor Palestinian – will cry” in the future.
Chalghoumi is something of an outlier in Muslim religious discourse, and was notable for supporting France’s ban on the burqa, or full face-covering.
Despite the threats, Chalghoumi said his wife encouraged him to continue speaking out.
Asked if he had considered stopping to protect his family, he responded, “No, although the consequences have reached my home. I cannot say that all this remains outside my home, because it doesn’t. The internet, social media, the threats. They assaulted my wife in a market. They spat on her. They even asked her to divorce me.”
JTA
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