The imam of the Pantin mosque, Ibrahim Doucouré, accused by the authorities of being "
involved in the Islamist movement
", decided Sunday, October 25 to "
withdraw
", a few hours before the examination Monday by the justice the appeal against the closure of the place of worship ordered by the Minister of the Interior.
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"
Concerned about the interest of the faithful and the durability of the mosque, I decided today to withdraw from my activities,
" Ibrahim Doucouré wrote on Facebook on Sunday evening.
In his message, the imam refuted the “
grievances articulated in the prefectural decree
”, but wished to “
promote appeasement
”.
His decision was confirmed to AFP by the head of the mosque and the Muslim Federation of Pantin, M'hammed Henniche.
Closed for six months
The place of worship frequented by about 1,300 faithful has been closed since Wednesday evening for "
a period of six months
", according to a decree issued by the prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis.
Monday afternoon, the administrative court of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) must study the appeal filed by the Muslim Federation of Pantin, opposed to this closure.
The authorities accuse this mosque of having shared on its Facebook page, on October 9, a video showing the father of a 4th year student at the Bois-d'Aulne college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines) outraged by a course on freedom of expression given on October 5 and 6 by Samuel Paty.
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On October 16, the professor of history and geography was beheaded by an 18-year-old refugee of Chechen Russian origin.
This closure decision is also based on the "
links with Salafism
" maintained by the mosque, its attendance by "
people involved in the jihadist movement
" and the troubled personality of an imam, Ibrahim Doucouré, according to the decree. .
"
Involved in the radical Islamist movement of Ile-de-France
", trained for two years in a "
fundamentalist institute
" in Yemen, reports the closure order, this imam also educated three of his children in an underground school, in Bobigny.
According to the appeal consulted by AFP, "
the old and past student associations of Imam Ibrahim Doucouré cannot justify the closure
" of the mosque.
In addition, "
the mosque, and therefore Ibrahim Doucouré who is one of the imams of the latter, regularly organizes conferences and debates on Islam but also societal debates around the major republican issues
", estimates the application for interim relief. -freedom.