Chems-eddine Mohamed Hafiz (born 28 June 1954 in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

) is a Franco-Algerian lawyer. Since 11 January 2020, he has served as rector of the

Grand Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (, ; ), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest mosques in France. It comprises prayer rooms, an outdoor garden, a small lib ...

. He is a member of the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme (CNCDH).

Biography

On 17 March 1986, Chems-eddine Hafiz became a lawyer at the Court of Algiers, and participated in the creation of the Union of young lawyers of the bar of Algiers. On 13 February 1991, he enrolled at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

bar and specialized in international business law, particularly between the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

and Arab countries, as well as

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. He pleaded at the assizes. First, the Khouas case, named after the young Mohamed Khouas, shot dead on May 5, 1996 by two brothers, Eric and Yann Beaufrère at the foot of his building, Cité des Chaillots, in

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

, in Yonne. He was 19 and had just obtained his baccalaureate. Then, the Sohane Benziane case, named after the young girl discovered inanimate on October 4, 2002, seriously burned, in a garbage room in the city of Balzac, in

Vitry-sur-Seine Vitry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Name Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin ''Vitriacum'', and before that ''Victori ...

in Val-de-Marne. She died in hospital aged just 17. In 1998, he became advisor to the Grand Mosque of Paris, which he represented alongside Rector

Dalil Boubakeur Dalil Boubakeur (born 2 November 1940) is a physician, mufti, and former rector of the Great Mosque of Paris. He is also the president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith. He was born on 2 November 1940 in the Algerian city of Skikda, to ...

on the occasion of the "consultation" (Istichâra) launched by Minister of the Interior

Jean-Pierre Chevènement Jean-Pierre Chevènement (; born 9 March 1939) ...

Community life

Chems-eddine Hafiz is president of the association Vivre l´islam, producer of a programm on the France channel 2, every Sunday morning, of the program Islam. In 2001, within the Paris bar, he created the Association of Algerian Lawyers in France, which brought together lawyers from Algeria. In 2008, he changed its name to the Euro-Maghreb Association of Business Lawyers (AEMADA). He has been its honorary president since 2013. He speaks regularly about the Algerian legal space through his blogs, dedicated to the Paris-Algiers commission of the Paris bar and the AEMADA. In 2013, he was appointed by the Bar of the

Paris Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Paris (, ) is the largest appeals court in France in terms of the number of cases brought before it. Its jurisdiction covers the departments of Paris, Essonne, Yonne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne. ...

responsible for the international Paris-Alger commission. Following the November 2015 Paris attack, he created with lawyers from the Paris bar the Association the fraternity of the Paris bar, bringing together lawyers of various denominations. This association organized meetings at the Mosque of Paris, at the Synagogue de la Victoire, at

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

and at the Oratoire du Louvre. In April 2020, he co-founded with Xavier Emmanuelli, the association Les Vendredis de la Connaissance, (knowledge Fridays), with the aim of organizing popular universities on issues of society and religion. He chairs the association Les Bâtisseurs des mosques de France)Mosque builders(), which aims to pay tribute and make known the history of those who built the Muslim religious heritage of France.

Muslim faith

From May 2003 to March 2021, Chems-eddine Hafiz was a member of the executive bureau of instance representing Muslims :

French Council of the Muslim Faith The French Council of the Muslim Faith (, usually abbreviated to CFCM), was a national elected body, to serve as an official interlocutor with the French state in the regulation of Muslim religious activities.Mayanthi Fernando, MERIP. It was a no ...

(CFCM). He has been the vice-president from 2008 to 2021. He is a member of the commission for legal reflection on the relations of Muslims with public powers, the day Machelon was appointed by

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, Minister of State, and Minister of Interior. He is a founding member of the Foundation for Works of Islam. He is also a member of the Conference of Religious Leaders in France (CRCF). On January 11, 2020, he was elected president of the Society of Habous and Holy Places of Islam, of which he was vice-president since 2001. He became director of the

Great Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (, ; ), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest mosques in France. It comprises prayer rooms, an outdoor garden, a small lib ...

, replacing

who resigned from this post.Dalil Boubakeur, recteur de la Grande mosquée de Paris, démissionne
/ref>

Awards

* Officier de l'ordre national du Mérite. 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafiz, Chems-Eddine 20th-century French lawyers 20th-century Algerian lawyers 1954 births Living people 21st-century Algerian lawyers