The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Radical Islam: the prefect of Sarthe calls for the closure of a mosque near Le Mans

2021-10-14T19:27:26.557Z


Since 2010, the “Yvon Luby intercultural associative space” of Allonnes has been made available to associations, today in the sights of the State for their pro-jihad discourse.


"

I fell from the clouds,

" repeats Gilles Leproust.

I am surprised that as mayor, no one has made me aware of it.

Tuesday morning at 8:30 am, I got a phone call from the prefect, who informed me of an administrative search at the Allonnes mosque

”is still surprised this Thursday with Le

Figaro

the mayor PC-Front de Gauche of the Sarthe town of 11,000 inhabitants, on the edge of Le Mans.

Until yesterday Wednesday, October 12, around 300 faithful Muslims had a dedicated place of prayer, also housing a Koranic school welcoming 110 children.

Read alsoSarthe: a pro-jihad mosque soon to be closed in Allonnes

The same day, the Ministry of the Interior announced its plan to close the building, implicating the two associations which managed it, the “

Allonnaise Association pour le Juste Milieu

” (AAJM) and “

the Al Qalam association

”. "

Known for its anchoring under radical Salafist Islam

", in the place of worship were held "

sermons [...] legitimizing the recourse to armed jihad, death as a martyr, the commission of acts of terrorism and recourse to violence, hatred and discrimination as well as the establishment of Sharia law,

”explained Beauvau. The General Directorate of the Treasury also ordered the freezing of the assets of the two structures as well as of several of their officials. The people targeted "

have a period of eight days to make their observations

”specify the public services, before the State decides.

This Thursday afternoon, the AAJM denounced on social networks "

the serious accusations made by the Ministry of the Interior

".

For the organization, the latter “is

illustrated once again in an approach and a display policy

”.

The leaders promised to "

judicially challenge the measures taken

."

An “

intercultural space

” that has become a mosque

A surprise for Allonnes?

Having become a dormitory city in the 1960s for the workers of the nearby Renault factory, the city has known a large North African and Muslim population for decades.

So much so that the town hall decided in 2010 to entrust him with the “

intercultural associative space Yvon Luby

”, named after a local communist activist and former mayor from 1977 to 2008.

A spacious building, decorated in the Islamic style and financed at the time by the State, the general council and the municipality to the tune of 1.8 million euros.

The investment had hit a secular association, as shown in a 2010 report by the local media LMtv Sarthe.

The mayor had nevertheless defended the project by evoking the absence of a place for Muslims in the town: "

The AMA was previously in a basement, where there was this practice under conditions that I find quite despicable, which develop discrimination.

Today they can practice all of their activity in decent premises

, ”he rejoiced.

Another part of the buildings was entrusted to a Portuguese association.

Municipal employees and elected officials

A faithful of the mosque described this Thursday to BFMTV the "

normality

" of the place: "

there are Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccans, Africans, from all ... who come here, who pray normal and who come out ... We have nothing here.

However, the mosque has already experienced delicate episodes. Thus one of the previous imams, placed in police custody in October 2020, suspected of having received 40,000 euros in social allowances between 2015 and 2018, and of having also failed to declare 150,000 euros paid by the embassy of Saudi Arabia in France, as revealed by Europe1. According to the radio, the man was "

considered by the intelligence services to be close to Salafist circles

".

To read also Éric Delbecque: "

Salafism is a silent Islamism which dulls our vigilance

"

For several months, the building no longer had an appointed imam, and prayers were assured by Karim D., president of the AAJM and also director of the youth service of the town hall of Allonnes. A post that makes you cringe, and "

shows the penetration of a hard Islam in the city

", for an anonymous local witness, who reminds

Le Figaro that

in November 2015, the day after the attacks in Paris, several searches had been carried out on people involved in municipal life, facts confirmed by several local media. Even before, French intelligence had initiated proceedings against a young Allonnais, since become elected by the municipal majority, accused of Muslim proselytism. What he had defended himself then.

A suspicion of infiltration immediately rejected by the mayor Gilles Leproust: "

The current media surge sets a strange atmosphere

" he criticizes. “

I see absolutely wrong things happening. Whatever the cults, I don't want to graze a community, let's be careful with amalgamations

”he concludes. Karim D., today suspected of Salafism, is he not also the one who came, in November 2020, to attend a mass to show the Catholics his "

solidarity

" and "to

affirm that Islam is a religion of peace?

», After the attack on the Basilica of Nice? A gesture that had moved the faithful Catholics to tears, as described by Ouest-France ... The AAJM also received, in September 2021, the Yvon Luby Prize for Peace, created by ... the town hall of Allonnes. The association was rewarded for its distribution of meals to the poor and to students of the University of Le Mans.

When questioned, the municipal opposition is also waiting to learn more about the investigation to comment, but does not share a fundamentally different point. Gaëtan Cordelet, his leader who says he is "

without label

", admits "to

have heard that the prefecture has been paying close attention to the mosque for a few years

", and finds "

a little strong on the part of the mayor that he says fall from the clouds ...

”, but was also surprised by the elements put forward by the Ministry of the Interior. "

Some people targeted, whom I know, are perfectly integrated, adorable

". The elected official underlines the "

great discretion

" of the occupants of the place of worship so far, and admits a strange point: "

it is true that there has never been a mosque marked anywhere

”.

A problem now resolved.

Since yesterday, a sign on the door of the Yvon Luby room warns: "

Mosque closed for administrative reasons

".

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-10-14

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.