Angers city council opposes the sale of a mosque to Morocco

The Angers municipal council opposed the cession to the Kingdom of Morocco of a mosque under construction, as desired by the Association des Mosques d'Angers (AMA), owner of the land, in order to finance the end of the work. , we learned Monday from corroborating sources.

The great mosque of Angers, planned to accommodate some 2,500 worshipers, has been under construction since 2014 in the Hauts district of Saint-Aubin, in the north of the city.

The land was sold in September 2011 to the Association of Muslims of Angers, predominantly Moroccan, by the semi-public company Sara, now Alter Cités, chaired by the mayor of Angers Christophe Béchu (ex-LR).

WADA voted at the end of September to transfer it free of charge to the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco.

In a deliberation consulted by AFP, the city council voted against this transfer on Monday evening, on the grounds that the land sale contract precludes a resale of the goods by the purchaser before the end of the work, except express authorization from the developer.

"After having heard the various parties, after having solicited external opinions and after having taken the time to reflect, the municipal council does not want an agreement to be given by the developer on this transfer which does not respect the legal framework of the initial contract ”, indicates the deliberation.

This recalls that the council is "attached to the free exercise of worship, and respectful of the wish of the Muslim community to have a dignified place of worship allowing believers to practice their religion".

"The transfer of the future mosque to a foreign country does not correspond to the desired neutrality for the realization and the future functioning of such equipment", she continues.

According to a source close to the town hall, the buyers do not have the necessary financing to complete the construction of the building.

"2.5 million were collected and it would still lack 4.5 million euros," she told AFP, stressing that the Angevin Muslim community is "itself divided on this transfer to Morocco" .