ENORB Complains To La Derniére Heure For An Article Normalising The Criminalisation Of Muslims
GTTO partner ENORB sent a complaint to the daily, Belgian, French-language newspaper, La Derniére Heure, expressing concerns about an article promoting negative stereotypes about mosques in France.
The article, titled “A mosque in Cannes threatened with closure, due to anti-Semitic remarks”, was published on 12 January 2022. It reported that an administrative procedure to close a mosque in Cannes “was opened because of ‘hate remarks towards France’ and remarks ‘inciting hatred towards homosexuals or transsexuals,’” as well as “explicit antisemitic hatred”, according to a municipal source.
The newspaper stated that the French Minister of Interior, Gerald Darmanin, has claimed that 70 of the 2,500 Muslim mosques and places of worship in France would be “radicalised”.
In their complaint, ENORB highlighted that the article does not provide a critical assessment of the Minister of the Interior and that this Islamophobic coverage normalises the criminalisation of Muslims.
The author of the article associates Islam with radicalisation and terrorist acts, failing to conduct ethical and investigative journalism. The report spreads misinformation and does not reveal trustworthy sources.
La Derniére Heure has not replied to this complaint.
ENORB is committed to raise awareness of Islamophobic narratives and the impact they have on the everyday life of Muslim people in Belgium, and creating a dialogue of trust between the media and different religious minorities.
