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Ramadan: an exception to the curfew rule for the "night of fate" examined by the Council of State

2021-05-03T21:16:29.394Z


The most important festival of the Muslim religion will commemorate, on the evening of May 8, the night when the prophet Muhammad would have received the revelation of the Koran by the archangel Gabriel.


Will the Council of State grant this Tuesday afternoon, May 4, an exception to the curfew rule for Muslims so that they can celebrate "

the night of fate

" on the evening of May 8?

Nothing is certain but the Great Mosque of Paris has filed a legal appeal with the highest jurisdiction of the State as this holiday is so important in the eyes of Islam.

A green light granted by the Council of State to Islam would not, however, go unnoticed in the current context.

Read also: Curfew and Ramadan: a tolerance granted for Muslims in certain departments

If the practice of the daytime fast of Ramadan is well known, the "

night of destiny

" which is however the most important festival of this religion - it would be "

the holiest night of the year

" - commemorates, according to the Islamic tradition, the night when the prophet Muhammad would have received the revelation of the Koran by the archangel Gabriel.

The benefit of tonight's prayers, “

better than a thousand months

”, would thus be proportional.

Hence the practice of praying throughout the night and of reading the Koran which constitutes the basis of the approach of the Great Mosque of Paris.

"

National exemption

"

In its request, the Great Mosque of Paris, however, does not ask for an entire night of prayer but for a "

national exemption

" which would give the possibility for Muslims who so wish to go to the mosque to only pray, for five hours, from 21 hours to 2 hours in the morning because charitable and festive activities are also planned in normal times.

Chems-eddine Hafiz, rector of the Great Mosque specifies in

Figaro

: "

Without claiming the lifting of the curfew for the whole night, I proposed an exception of five hours, limiting the spiritual aspect and the prayers, strictly compliance with sanitary rules.

"

Read also: A professor is controversial by postponing an exam because of Ramadan

This Muslim official first made this request to the Minister of the Interior on April 21. He received a negative response from the government on April 28 on the grounds that the health risks were still too high to grant such an exemption. Hence his appeal to the Council of State: "

It is a normal step

, he is justified.

, after the government's refusal, to ask the judge for arbitration. It is a guarantee that I owe to the faithful. Of course, we must reconcile our request with the imperative of health, there is no debate on this point, but we are in a phase of deconfinement with a fragile situation, of course, but with an undeniable movement of retreat from the 'epidemic. I also proposed to the Council of State a very strict sanitary protocol, which rules out any regrouping, any contact and any sharing of food, excluding any festive character.

"

In any case, he concludes, "

it is the Council of State which will have the last word

" but "

the freedom of worship includes among its essential components, the right to participate collectively in ceremonies, in particular in places of worship. cult

”.

To date, the curfew rule will only evolve nationally on May 19, with a change from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., then on June 19, with a limit set at 11 p.m. which will not be fully lifted until June 30 if the situation permits.

"Supporting system"

Sunday, the Great Mosque of Paris, however, listened with interest to the statements of Jean-Michel Blanquer, as Minister of Youth and Sports, on Stage 2, which did not exclude but without promising anything that the rule covers -fire could undergo some adjustments with a "

system of proof

" for the night matches of the tournament of Roland-Garros which will take place from May 30 to June 13. But this Muslim institution also knows the negative outcome, on March 29, of a comparable appeal, filed by two associations, Civitas and Via la Voix du Peuple, to the Council of State. They asked for the possibility of celebrating the nocturnal Catholic services of Holy Week. Request which, however, had not been defended by the Episcopal Conference.

Read also: In Lyon, Ramadan reveals student precariousness

To refuse, the judge in summary proceedings then observed that "

the circulation of the virus

" had "

increased

" with a "

marked worsening of the health crisis

" and that the curfew had demonstrated its effectiveness, hence the "

justification

Of his maintenance.

In addition, the judge had noted that “

unlike

” the first confinement, the establishments of worship were authorized “

to remain open

” during the day and that there was therefore no “

disproportionate

infringement of

the freedom of worship by in relation to the objective of "

public health

".

For its part, the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) did not follow the request of the Great Mosque of Paris. He explains why in a press release published on the evening of May 3:

“Given the curfew hours (19h00 - 06h00) imposed by the health situation in our country, the prayers of this blessed night will unfortunately not be able to be held in mosques with the exception of the Dawn prayer (Alfajr) for which tolerance has been obtained. This Alfajr prayer, which closes “the night of fate”, is one of the most important moments of the year. "

The"

tolerance

»Granted by the Ministry of the Interior allows prayer rooms to be opened, without any specific justification, at 5:00 am instead of 6:00 am during Ramadan which will end on May 12th.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-05-03

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