PARIS, April 13: Eager for a stronger voice in society and a better understanding of Islam in today’s tense climate, French Muslims elected a national body on Sunday aimed at bringing their community of five million out of the shadows.

Participants hope the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), to open in September, will foster better relations with mainstream France and provide a platform for talks with the government on building mosques and Muslim cemeteries.

“Thanks to TV, the French think all Muslims are extremists and that ours is a barbaric religion — which is ludicrous and leads to rows over mosques and women wearing veils,” said Adama Sow, after casting his vote at a Paris polling station.

“The vast majority of Muslims are not extremists. They just want to live their religion in a transparent way and prove there is no contradiction between being French and being Muslim.”

Despite their numbers and historical ties to France, Muslims are still poorly integrated, often living in grim, crime-ridden estates on the outskirts of cities where frustrated youths can be more easily won over by extremist groups than they might be elsewhere.—Reuters