Murder in a mosque in Gard: François Bayrou defends the term "Islamophobia"

François Bayrou defended his use of the term "Islamophobic" in the JDD on Saturday, May 3, after the murder of a Muslim man in a mosque last week, which was contested by some in the political class.

"We must have the courage to tell things as they are," said the Prime Minister in an interview published Saturday evening on the website of the Journal du Dimanche (JDD).

"Refusing to speak a word because you don't want to face reality is an attitude I've already encountered in my political life. Here, the facts are clear: a 22-year-old boy was murdered in a mosque while he was praying . And his attacker filmed his death while insulting Allah. So I ask the question: if this isn't hatred directed against Islam, what is it? Why refuse the right words?" he adds.

"I see hatred of Muslims and Islam, hatred of Jews and Judaism. And hatred of Christians. With crimes in all three cases," he continues. This term is practically never used by the right, which disputes it.

"The term 'Islamophobia' has a very strong ideological connotation towards the Muslim Brotherhood, which means that in our ministry, we take the precaution of not using it," explained Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior and potential future leader of the Les Républicains party, after the murder of Aboubakar Cissé in the Gard department.

A large part of the left uses it, but that wasn't the case just a few years ago. "Certainly, 'Islamophobic' is a word we don't like. Certainly, we prefer to fight 'hatred of Muslims.' But the question being asked today is not at all whether or not it is right to criticize a religion," wrote Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2019.

At the time, the left was divided over whether or not to participate in a march "against Islamophobia" organized by the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, which has since been dissolved due to accusations of links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Insoumis are now using this word very widely. "Those who are trying to drown the subject in a backdrop of semantic acrobatics should wake up," MEP Rima Hassan castigated this week.

In 2021, Socialist MP Jérôme Guedj explained that he rejected this term, which he considered to be an "eminently political and pernicious concept."

"The political battle always begins with the battle of words. This word allows them to surreptitiously but methodically encompass the challenge to secular laws," he said at the time. Its use is still not widespread across the left. French Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel prefers the term "anti-Muslim hatred."