The Strasbourg city council adopted on Monday March 22 "
the principle of a subsidy
", contested by opponents of the mayor EELV, of more than 2.5 million euros for the construction of a mosque in Millî Görüs (CIMG ), a reputed association close to Turkey.
To read also: Mosques, schools, associations… The Franco-Turks under the influence of Ankara
The deliberation, adopted by 42 votes against 7, "
approves the principle of a subsidy
" of 2.563 million euros "
for the construction
" of this place of worship in the popular district of Meinau.
This subsidy represents "
10% of the amount of the work
", noted during the vote the mayor EELV of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian, whose majority affirmed that it was a usual percentage for the subsidization of places of worship in the Alsatian capital.
The cost of the project amounts to more than 25 million euros, for a total cost of this project which is to give birth to the largest mosque in Europe, estimated at 32 million euros.
The text, amended during its examination, provides that the actual payment of the subsidy is "
the subject of another vote,
" added Jeanne Barseghian, while the deliberation was criticized by the municipal opposition.
The elected environmentalist had also proposed to integrate into the text several conditions demanded during the debates, such as the prior signing of the Charter of Principles for Islam in France or guarantees on the transparency of funds intended to finance the site.
LR Jean-Philippe Vetter, who voted against, was precisely moved by the refusal of the Islamic Confederation Millî Görüs to sign in January the “
Charter of principles for Islam in France
”, a text promoted by Emmanuel Macron in his struggle against separatism and which reaffirms the "
compatibility
" of the Muslim faith with the Republic.
The LREM group Alain Fontanel did not take part in the vote, as did that of the former PS mayor of Strasbourg and former minister, Catherine Trautmann.
The construction of the Eyyub Sultan mosque started in 2017. But according to the local press, CIMG, which manages hundreds of mosques in Europe, then faced funding problems which led to its shutdown.
