The temple welcomed about 300 faithful and was frequented by “individuals belonging to or close to the radical Islamist movement”, according to the prefect of Sarthe
France continues its fight against radical Islamism. The prefect of Sarthe announced on Wednesday the closure of the Allonnes mosque, a town of 11,000 inhabitants located in western France, as those responsible for legitimizing the use of “armed jihad.” He has also decided to close the Koranic school that the mosque housed because it was “a place of indoctrination” for Muslim children.
“Following my instructions, the prefect of Sarthe has promised to close the Allonnes mosque, near Le Mans,” French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Twitter. This decision was made because the sermons given in this mosque promoted “the use of armed jihad, death as a martyr, the commission of acts of terrorism and the use of violence,” said the minister.
An administrative survey also revealed that “hatred and discrimination” and “the establishment of sharia”, the law of the Islamic religion that includes all of Allah’s commandments relating to human conduct, were promoted from the mosque.
The mosque, managed by the Allonnes Association for the Just Middle (AAJM) and the Al Qalam association, welcomed some 300 faithful and was frequented by “individuals belonging to or close to the radical Islamist movement”, according to the prefect of Sarthe.
The religious center housed a Koranic school attended by 110 children, before whom “armed jihad” was promoted. Sarthe Prefecture considers this Koranic school to be “a place of indoctrination.” A sign on the door of the Koranic school indicated this Wednesday that the courses were “suspended until further notice,” according to the France 3 television channel.
France has legislatively rearmed during the presidency of Emmanuel Macron to fight more effectively against radical Islamism. In recent months, Darmanin, a member of the government’s right wing, has ordered the closure of several mosques and dissolved associations suspected of carrying out jihadist propaganda.
Immigration and the fight against radical Islamism promise to be two central issues in the campaign for the presidential elections of April 2022, judging by the statements of the candidates of the right and the far right in France in the pre-campaign.
Although far-right polemicist and essayist Eric Zemmour has not yet officially announced his candidacy for the presidency, he has been shaking up the pre-campaign for weeks with his xenophobic and anti-Muslim statements. She stands to the right of the far-right leader Marine le Pen, who seems moderate by her side.
Zemmour, who promises to fight radical Islamism, would win 17% of the vote, ahead of Marine Le Pen, with a 15% intention to vote, and would advance to the second round of the elections, according to a recent Harris poll Interactive for Challenges magazine.
If Zemmour and Macron qualify for the second round, the outgoing president would defeat him by 56% of votes in favor, compared to 43% for the controversial essayist, according to the same poll.
.