A French court has upheld the ban on CAGE director Muhammad Rabbani, who has consistently exposed state-sponsored Islamophobia, from entering the country.
The court’s ruling comes amid a broader campaign to suppress Muslim dissent, marked by increasingly draconian government measures.
On October 10th the Paris Administrative Court confirmed the ban on Rabbani, prohibiting him from entering French territory “for any reason.”
In July 2023, Rabbani was detained and deported by the French government which accused him of spreading “conspiracies” about France’s mistreatment of Muslims.
The Ministry of the Interior accused Rabbani of issuing “slanderous” and “conspiratorial” statements denouncing state Islamophohic persecution in France and mass state surveillance.
In October 2023, France extended its silencing campaign to Poland. Rabbani was detained in Warsaw at the request of French authorities. He was scheduled to speak at Europe’s Human Dimension Conference where he was scheduled to deliver a critical speech against France’s state-sponsored Islamophobia. The French government upheld its accusation that Rabbani was spreading “conspiracies” regarding its treatment of Muslims.
The day before the ban was confirmed, CAGE International representatives spoke at the OSCE Human Dimensions conference in Warsaw, the world’s largest regional security organisation, with fifty-seven participating states.
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Ryan Freschi, CAGE International Representative, emphasised the harsh reality of structural Islamophobia in France, particularly pointing out that, due to a systematic obstruction policy introduced by the French state in 2018, 31,000 Muslim organisations — including independent NGOs, mosques, and schools — have faced state harassment, with over a thousand being forcibly shut down.
CAGE said the decision to maintain the ban on Muhammad Rabbani is a severe violation of his freedoms of movement and association.
The organisation said it is just one of many alarming cases; other cases involve respected religious leaders who face exile or are removed from their positions.
And it takes place within the broader context of the French government’s blatant and targeted suppression of voices criticising France’s role in the genocide in Gaza.
Muhammad Rabbani said: “France’s decision to uphold the ban is unsurprising — it was politically motivated from the outset, and the courts have consistently reinforced government actions. In a climate of widespread hysteria surrounding Muslims, Muslims facing politically charged trials rarely receive a fair hearing.
“This ban is part of a broader effort to dismantle Muslim civil society, as the French government systematically dissolves organisations, seizes assets, and suppresses political activism. CAGE International has explicitly been targeted for its role as an international NGO, monitoring and spotlighting France’s persecution of its Muslim community, scrutiny the government seeks to avoid.
“The ban on my presence only reinforces our argument of structural Islamophobia and the deliberate silencing of Muslim organisations. An international NGO leader barred from entering France to investigate domestic policy speaks volumes. One can only imagine the global response if Russia had banned a member of the French press or Amnesty International.
“Despite the ban, in today’s globalised, interconnected world where information flows freely, CAGE International’s work will continue undeterred. This hypocrisy will not hinder our investigations, advocacy, or resolve to hold France accountable for its actions.”
