Close the “Radical” Mosques, And the Salafists Pray in the Streets

Below are two videos about the closure of a “radical’ mosque in the French town of Lagny-sur-Marne. In the first video you’ll see a report on the closure of the mosque, and the plight of the poor Muslims who were humiliated by being forced to pray on pallets in a tent.

The second video has excerpts from a debate in parliament. It seems that closing the mosque forced the faithful to gather in the streets of Lagny-sur-Marne for their prayers. Local officials who object to the practice are confronted with a choice: Which would you prefer, the re-opening of a Salafist mosque, or prayer in the streets?

Many thanks to Ava Lon translating these clips, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video #1:

Video #2:

Transcript Video 1:

00:00   There’s only a handful of them who have the keys for the site.
00:04   So we are
00:08   here on the site of the former mosque,
00:12   the mosque that was closed. The mosque in Lagny-sur-Marne that was under construction
00:16   was abandoned. It’s been eight months. In December of last year
00:20   the government ordered the closing of the site.
00:24   the place is considered a hotbed of radical ideology.
00:28   This morning there was a search of the mosque in Lagny. This search
00:32   allowed us to discover IT elements, weapons, documents,
00:36   all of enough concern to proceed with the closing
00:40   of the mosque. 22 prohibitions from traveling abroad,
00:44   nine home arrests. The three associations that were managing the mosque
00:48   have been dissolved, accused of inciting hatred and calling for jihad.
00:52   Today the building no longer has an owner. The land belongs to us,
00:56   but the buildings don’t belong to anyone legally right now, so
01:00   we cannot do anything. Even if I could say today that we’re demolishing
01:04   the buildings, I wouldn’t know where send the bill. Because there’s time lag
01:08   until the state names a legal liquidator, the only one to be empowered to decide about the future
01:12   of the place. In the meantime, for a month, several hundreds
01:16   of the faithful come to pray here, half a kilometre from the former location,
01:20   in this tent, installed by the mayor’s office. Among them is Yousef.
01:24   He is the treasurer of the newly-created association
01:28   to manage the mosque in Lagny. All its members were vetted
01:32   by the mayor’s office, but the reopening of the mosque takes time.
01:36   We are humiliated. We are forced to pray on pallets.
01:40   We were building our mosque over there; we put all our savings into it,
01:45   and all our time as well, because after work we were going to work there,
01:49   we were building our mosque, and between one day and the next it was closed,
01:53   and now we have been put below ground level. We have been humiliated.
01:57   The faithful, who feel as if they were paying for
02:01   some other individuals. The tent has to be disassembled until the end of August,
02:05   then those who can will be praying in the neighboring mosques,
02:09   about ten kilometres miles from here.
 

Transcript Video 2:

00:00   Thank you. The floor to Mr Yves…
00:04   Albarello. Thank you, Mr president.
00:08   I have a question for the Interior Minister: sir, in December 2015
00:12   I asked you a question about radicalized Salafist mosques.
00:16   After the closing of the mosque in Lagny-sur-Marne, a town in my district.
00:20   Let me to go back to the mosque of Lagny-sur-Marne.
00:24   Several judicial measures put forward by the Muslims to re-open
00:28   this temple have all failed. The last one was rejected
00:32   by the administrative court on September 30th.
00:36   After this closure street prayers have been taking place five times a day
00:40   in the public space. Despite several appeals to the mayor, letters,
00:44   meetings in the prefect’s office and in the Ministry [Interior], the situation
00:48   isn’t improving and the praying continues in front of the public school
00:52   in the town’s priority neighborhood. This has to stop!
00:56   The town of Lagny-sur-Marne has been left alone with this national problem.
01:00   The state has to act. Sir, either
01:04   you declare that the prayers happen with no risk
01:08   of radicalism, and you allow the temple to re-open,
01:12   or you consider that not to be the case and you put a stop to those “street prayers”.
01:16   By the way, it is unacceptable that the elected municipal representatives
01:20   find out through the newspapers that in their town about ten
01:24   S-files [terrorist suspects] out of forty in the community and the surrounding area
01:28   of Marne et Gondoire. Those flagged people have to be prevented from
01:32   Proselytizing, in addition,
01:36   when it’s about the town’s priority neighborhoods.
01:40   Just like the town needs the state, the state needs
01:44   the local collectives in this field. The solution
01:48   establishing [unintelligible] between the collectives and your specialized services
01:53   in order to facilitate the exchange of information.
01:57   But right now there’s still the problem of street prayers, so my question is simple:
02:01   when are you going to order the national police to put a stop to those street prayers
02:05   in Lagny-sur-Marne?! The floor to the Mr. Bernard Cazeneuve.
02:09   Interior Minister. Deputy, sir, I would like to take the opportunity
02:13   of this question. We talked about it many times; I would like to bring up some more specifications.
02:17   Yes, I proceeded towards dissolving, after having presented
02:21   this dissolution to the council of ministers, of three associations
02:25   which were behind the operation of a radicalized mosque,
02:29   one that was seriously radicalized. I would remind you that the imam of this mosque, who
02:33   went to Egypt in 2014, called to and was provoking terrorism,
02:37   that within this mosque, there were
02:41   individuals who incited
02:45   young people to join terrorist operations abroad, and when I
02:49   proceeded to dissolve those associations
02:53   after the council of ministers decided in principle with the support,
02:57   very strong, of the President of the Republic, there were comments in the newspapers,
03:01   I don’t know if you remember, the comments especially from the local community that questioned
03:05   the necessity of that decision. So I insist here on repeating
03:09   seriously, that as long as this government exists
03:13   and I perform this function, we’ll be closing temples where there are calls for
03:17   and incitement to terrorism. First point. Second point: you’re asking me
03:21   if it’s necessary to re-create a temple. Because it’s what the municipality was asking, I know it.
03:25   You cannot ask me at the same time to close a temple
03:29   when there are individuals within who incite to terrorism,
03:33   and ask me, at the same time, to reopen those places so there won’t be street prayers;
03:37   because this is what I’m being asked by a number of municipalities, then
03:41   Mister Deputy, I cannot guarantee
03:46   that between the new structure and the old one, those who used to head it
03:50   the know-how, I’m talking about know-how, and it’s not neutral,
03:54   won’t be transmitted, because I want that the new
03:58   temple be a temple that is compatible with the concept
04:02   of a Republican Islam. As a consequence,
04:06   when I have this guarantee, we will act to prevent the prayers
04:10   and concerning the police officers, they have…
 

7 thoughts on “Close the “Radical” Mosques, And the Salafists Pray in the Streets

  1. Look at them….debating while Rome burns.

    A Sulla will be the only option very soon now.

  2. “…accused of inciting hatred and calling for jihad..” Shock!

    MEMO to French Government:

    Inciting hatred is ordinary basic Islam:
    “..between us and you enmity and hatred forever”, Koran 60:4
    http://www.libertygb.org.uk/news/islam-instructs-hatred-muslims-speak

    Calling for jihad is basic Islam:
    “Jihad means warfare against non-muslims” and is “a communal obligation”,
    Manual of Islamic Law, “Reliance of the Traveller”, o9.1, o9.0

  3. Yes it is so bloody sick. Soon, and most certainly not later on or down the road we are going to have to fight this traitorous enemy within. The murderous Muslim ideology and action has infiltrated every nook and cranny of our society.
    Burn baby burn is back with a vengeance. Hopefully society will rise.

  4. I beg your pardon………………

    ……………………..or at least SOMEBODY’S pardon.

    Are there no snowplows in France?
    They are VERY good at clearing streets. Powerful . Fast, too.
    After all, “clearing the streets” is why we have them in the first place.

  5. Shutting down ‘radical’ mosques is almost worse than useless, as evidenced here. There has to be a blanket ban on the practice and preaching of Islam, the destruction of ALL mosques, and deportation of all Imams. Half-hearted measures will not save Europe from this cancerous blight.

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