Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Wednesday that he had “closed” a mosque in Cannes, in the Alpes-Maritimes.
According to the Minister of the Interior, this closure takes place mainly because of “anti-Semitic remarks” made in the grounds of the mosque.
“We are closing one of the mosques in Cannes because we blame it for comments
anti-Semites, support for the CCIF (Collective against Islamophobia in France)
and BarakaCity “, dissolved at the end of 2020, said the Minister of the Interior on the Cnews television channel.
According to the city of Cannes this is the mosque Al Madina Al Mounawara, located at 1 bis avenue du Petit Juas on private land.
The rector of the mosque, Mustapha Dali, has not yet reacted to this closure. Following the Nice attack in July 2016, he reacted by condemning “barbaric fanaticism” in a publication on social networks.
“I hope to see our imams and our preachers denounce and fulfill their obligation to promote the religion of mercy in the face of barbaric fanaticism.” Mustapha Dali then wrote, which is today seriously questioned with this closure.
The Cannes town hall specifies in a press release that: “This decision comes after careful research work by the State services and multiple reports made directly by the municipality of Cannes since 2015”.
The director general of city services tells us that a large part of these reports concern publications on social networks, in particular on the rector’s Facebook account.
“Multiple reports made directly by the municipality of Cannes since 2015”
Press release from the city of Cannes
The press release adds: “We know that the vast majority of Muslims who frequent this very old mosque do not share its drift; some had also alerted us.”
Directly targeting the rector of the mosque Mustapha Dali, the city of Cannes adds: “it is therefore up to the emergence of new leaders respectful of the French Republic and the country so that the place of worship can then reopen”.