France’s leading Muslim cleric, who has called on his followers to work undercover for a global Islamic state, is celebrating his invitation to an interfaith meeting alongside Pope Leo XIV during the pope’s recent visit to the country.
Imam Makhlouf Mamèche, president of Musulmans de France (MF) and rector of the Grand Mosque of Lille, posted pictures on Facebook of himself with other religious leaders at the September 28 papal event in Metz, themed “Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.”
“I particularly recall the Pope’s words on the multifaceted roots of Europe and, in particular, on the presence of Arab culture in the Iberian Peninsula, which testifies to the richness of the encounters between civilizations,” the Algerian-born imam wrote on Facebook, highlighting Leo’s praise for Islam’s contribution to European civilization.
I never called upon Muslims to operate clandestinely...
Mamèche described his encounter with the pope as “a powerful moment of dialogue, fraternity, and reflection on our common history and shared future,” noting that the event was held in the presence of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and several heads of state.
“I would like to express my warm thanks to the Catholic Church in France for this invitation and for the trust that is given to me. I am particularly honored and happy to participate in this meeting in Metz,” Mamèche observed, posting a picture of his badge for the event.
French Islamism Expert Slams Vatican for Inviting Brotherhood-linked Imam
However, Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, a leading French expert on the Muslim Brotherhood, told Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) that “Imam Mamèche should not have been invited to this meeting given the links between the Musulmans de France and the Muslim Brotherhood described in the report published by the French Ministry of the Interior in May 2025.”
“Interreligious dialogue requires discernment in the choice of interlocutors,” Bergeaud-Blackler, author of the bestseller The Muslim Brotherhood and Its Networks: The Investigation. “An invitation to a papal visit confers institutional recognition on him, which he was quick to showcase on the social media accounts of Musulmans de France.”
The anthropologist, who has been under 24-hour police protection since publishing her book on the Brotherhood in 2023, noted that Vatican authorities, “who are not known for being poorly informed, must have approved the guest list beforehand for such a well-planned visit.”
“Since the Interior Ministry’s report is public, three hypotheses arise: either the information was not passed on to the Church; or it was, and the invitation becomes a deliberate decision that commits the Church to a recognition whose significance it cannot ignore; or the Vatican does not regard the Muslim Brotherhood as a problematic actor,” she warned.
“The timing is sensitive,” Bergeaud-Blackler told FWI. “A bill against Islamist entryism is under discussion in France. A photograph with the Pope would give him an argument to challenge the state’s characterisation of his organisation.”
French Intelligence Dossier Names Mamèche
The 76-page intelligence report on the Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islam in France names Mamèche as vice-president of the National Federation for Islamic Education (FNEM), which runs 60 schools. It notes that “the entire network is now subject to decentralized monitoring” by the Education Ministry, which led to the temporary closure of two schools in 2021-2022.
The report highlights Mamèche’s co-founding of Lycée Averroès, the first private Muslim school to get state funding in mainland France, and its ties to the MF, which it identifies as the French branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In December 2023, the state withdrew its contract with Lycée Averroès, citing administrative failings, a failure to respect republican values, promoting separatism, and links to Islamist groups.
Prefect Georges-François Leclerc cited the inclusion on a teachers’ reading list of the Forty Hadiths of Imam an-Nawawî — which calls for the death penalty for apostasy.
In their book Qatar Papers, Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot reported that the school had received 3 million euros from Qatar Charity, which was listed as a “terrorism support entity” by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center because of its “intent and willingness to provide financial support to terrorist organizations willing to attack US persons or interests.”
The consulting firm and think tank Strategy International has also pointed out the links between the MF and the Brotherhood, based on Interior Ministry’s dossier.
Imam Asks French Muslims to Use Entryism to Create an Islamic State
While the imam praises interreligious dialogue in public, at a November 2021 sermon in the Lille Grand Mosque, he claims that Islam teaches us to “liberate people” from the “injustice of other religions to the justice of Islam.”
“He is the One who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all other religions, even if the polytheists dislike it,” Mamèche preaches. He notes that Muslims are called to build an Islamic state as well as an Islamic civilization that “is not confined to Muslims alone” but “will reach all corners of the earth.”
Mamèche explains Muhammad’s strategy in dealing with the Jewish tribes in Medina. “In the first meeting, he presented them with the tolerant teachings of Islam.” In the second meeting, Muhammad “did not…” he notes. “The lesson for us is not to rush the results.”
Preaching first in Arabic and then in French, the imam explains that “when one is weak, one must wait. One must first gain strength before being able to react.” He outlines the Brotherhood strategy of entryism using Muhammad’s example, urging “the Muslim community of France” to “work gently, without raising alarms or causing an uproar” and “multiply our efforts without broadcasting it to everyone or making too much noise.”
Former Brotherhood Activist Exposes Mamèche’s Brotherhood Goals
Mohamed Louizi, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, exposes Mamèche’s Islamist links and preaching in his book Why I Left the Muslim Brotherhood. He accuses the imam of disseminating “The Epistle of Jihad,” a secret Arabic text “to keep the flame alive and mobilize Muslim ‘reservists’ for jihad.”
Louizi documents Mamèche’s talk titled “Egypt: The Land of Hassan al-Banna” (founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) at Lycée Averroès on the day Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak fell from power. “There could be no better way to promote the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood—clearly and unequivocally,” he writes.
“Over the course of nearly 35 minutes of ideological propaganda—with only seven minutes spoken in French and the remainder in very broken Arabic—this principal of the private Averroès school spoke without inhibition about his imam, the founding guide of the international Islamist movement,” Louizi notes.
“It is often forgotten that the Muslim Brotherhood was planted in the Egyptian desert by Saudi Wahhabis primarily to counter the Arab Renaissance and Pan-Arabism movements and to spread Salafism, especially its totalitarian and political form, in Egypt and throughout the world,” he warns.
On his blog, Louizi accused Mamèche of “disseminating the Islamist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood above the minbar of the Lille-Sud Mosque” and working “toward the same Islamist vision as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere.”
“A papal invitation has granted Mamèche a legitimacy the French state withholds: the MF is not even invited to the Forum de l’islam de France (FORIF),” Bergeaud-Blackler told FWI. FORIF is the body of Muslim leaders the Interior Ministry chose in 2022 to represent French Muslims.
“We are not invited,” Mamèche admits, adding that he wrote to the Interior Minister seeking a meeting but got no reply. He also denies links to the Brotherhood, asking: “Show me the links.”
Mamèche Responds
For his part, Mamèche told FWI that he regarded the Interior Ministry’s report as “particularly hostile toward Musulmans de France” and had publicly addressed “the numerous errors and inaccuracies it contains.”
The imam said Louizi had taken his statements out of context from a sermon delivered 15 years ago. “He has published numerous pieces concerning me which, in my view, reveal a long-standing personal hostility toward me,” Mamèche said.
“I never called upon Muslims to operate clandestinely, nor did I advocate for the development of any ‘culture of secrecy’ or ‘sense of secrecy,’” Mamèche insisted. “To attribute to me today an intention to operate clandestinely or foster secrecy is not only a distortion of my words but also completely at odds with my history and my public commitments over many years.”
