France: A Summary
Before World War 2 there were around 250,000 Jews in France making up 0.6% of the population.
In contrast there were only 100,000 Muslims living moistly in Paris.
Many attended the Paris Grand Mosque.
The Nazis treated Muslims differently from Jews, because they wanted access to Arab controlled oil fields in the Middle East.
Muslims in France were free from Nazi racial laws.
But the Paris police aided the Nazis in rounding up Jews
France
In France the pre-war (pre 1939) Jewish population of France was around a quarter of a million. It represented about 0.6% of the total population.
It was diverse, comprising long established families and more recent immigrants. These Jews were both Ashkenazi (Eastern Europe) and Sephardi (from North Africa -particularly Morocco).
In contrast the Muslim population was smaller around 100,000 with a significant proportion living in Paris. Many would have attended the Great Mosque of Paris which was built in 1922 as a symbol of recognition of the Muslim soldiers who fought for France in World War 1.
The Nazi attitude to Muslims was strongly influenced by the politics of the pre war Middle East. The Nazis tried to befriend Arab rulers or leaders hoping that Germany would eventually gain access to oil. Therefore Muslims in France and especially Paris were not subjected to Nazi racial laws unlike the Jews.
The Grand Mufti of Paris, Si Kaddour Benghabrit was the chief spiritual leader of Algerian origin. He made considerable efforts to bridge cultural divides between Muslims and French authorities.
Safiyyah’s War is a new children’s book by Hiba Noor Khan,which tells the story of how hundreds of Jewish children found safety in the Grand Mosque. The book is dedicated to the talismatic figure of Sido Abdel-Qadir Benghabrit. The Mufti of the Mosque. Apparently he had a bell installed under his desk so that when the Nazis would make a spot check looking for hidden Jews, he could send an alarm signal to look outs to ensure the Jews were well hidden.