A closure for six months. This is the essence of the decision taken by the prefecture of the Oise department on Monday December 27 against the Grand Mosque in Beauvais, explains Le Parisien. In fact, at the request of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, the prefect decided to administratively close the place of worship because of some extremely radical sermons, because they glorify jihad, and violence against Christians and Jews. Neither the Association of Devout Muslims, which runs the Islamic place of worship, nor its lawyer have yet reacted to the decision.
“For several months, an imam of this mosque has been giving anti-republican sermons in which he declared that religious laws take precedence over the laws of the Republic,” recalls Corinne Orzechowski, prefect of the department of Oise. “There was also a glorification of jihad, which can be considered a call to terrorism, and discriminatory statements against homosexuals and women,” explains the state representative. The accused tried to justify themselves, but the decision has been made. The prefect explains that this temporary closure may still have to be changed “depending on what the leaders of the place of worship will or will not do”.