The French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM) on Tuesday condemned what it described as "irresponsible" statements by political figures targeting Muslim women who wear headscarves, warning that such remarks could expose women to further hostility.
In a statement, the CFCM said it "condemns in the strongest terms" statements seeking to associate Muslim women wearing headscarves with an extremist ideology.
"Those who participate in this escalation bear political and moral responsibility," the council said, adding that such remarks "contribute to designating [women] for public condemnation and putting them in danger."
The CFCM said women wearing headscarves are already victims of "insults, threats, intimidation and attacks."
It rejected the portrayal of the headscarf as "the invention of a contemporary extremist ideology," noting that the practice exists in different forms in the foundational texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
"That extremist movements seek to instrumentalize it and make it an ideological banner changes nothing about its nature," the council said.
"It cannot justify banning it for those who freely choose it for religious or personal reasons," it added.
The CFCM said the French Republic's response should be clear: "A woman who chooses to wear the headscarf, like one who chooses not to wear it, must be protected and her free choice respected."
The council also criticized what it described as the prioritization of measures to control women's clothing in the run-up to major elections.
"The CFCM is surprised that, as major electoral deadlines approach, a political party aspiring to govern a great country like ours can consider it a priority to deploy our law enforcement forces to control women's clothing in public spaces," it said.
The council said law enforcement agencies have "many other priority missions," including combating "terrorism, crime, drug trafficking, violence against people, and all forms of insecurity" affecting citizens.
The CFCM further warned against using electoral debates to fuel "fear, stigmatization and division" in France.
"An electoral strategy consisting of diverting the debate by stoking fear, stigmatization and division in our country would inevitably be perceived as an attempt to conceal the absence of answers to the real challenges facing France," it said.
The council also argued that a ban on wearing the headscarf in public spaces would violate constitutionally protected principles.
"Whatever the justifications put forward, a ban on wearing the headscarf in public spaces would be in total contradiction with constitutionally protected principles, notably freedom of conscience, individual freedom and the principle of secularism," it said.
The CFCM further said such a ban "would also constitute a public incitement to hatred, violence or discrimination against millions of French citizens."
The council called on political leaders to show "responsibility and restraint" and urged citizens committed to "freedom, equality and fraternity" to make their voices heard through public debate and civic mobilization.
"Let us not make millions of French people hostages to electoral strategies. Let us not put targets on the backs of Muslim women," the CFCM said.
