RELIGION

Hassen Chalghoumi

Imam

The imam of the municipal mosque in the Paris suburb of Drancy, Hassen Chalghoumi has established a reputation as a stalwart opponent of antisemitism, often at the risk to his own safety. In October 2022, Chalghoumi was forced to hide in an anteroom at the mosque as police officers swooped in to arrest an armed assailant who was allegedly planning to attack the imam. “I’ve been living under police protection for years, I’m getting used to these situations but I’m still shocked,” he said afterwards. “But they won’t scare me, I won’t stop my fight.” In May, Chalghoumi expressed support for a French court decision that found an imam in the city of Toulouse guilty of antisemitic incitement. “We don’t need to bring this Israeli-Palestinian conflict back here, to Toulouse,” Chalghoumi remarked, as he condemned propaganda dressed as religious belief that “brings back hatred and division.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)