The Muslim community is “in shock”, sums up one believer. According to our information, on Friday the prefecture of the Oise department notified the Espoir et fraternité cultural association, which runs the large mosque in the centre of Beauvais and the Bilal mosque in Rue Corréus, of a six-month administrative closure. As per procedure, the association now has ten days to respond to the prefecture’s reasoning.
The prefecture of the department of Oise has targeted the Friday sermons of Imam Islem, informing us that it has identified “several sermons inciting hatred and violence and glorifying jihad”. The sermons of this man who converted to Islam are “considered too radical”, a source familiar with the case said. (….) These are statements taken out of context,” says Samim Bolaky, lawyer for the association.
“The Imam claims that the statements in question refer to facts reported more than 1400 years ago, especially the first two main wars in Islamic history, which results in a particular vocabulary. He probably did not have the sensitivity to speak in the past tense,” the lawyer explained.
Regarding the remarks, which were deemed homophobic by the prefecture, he said, “The imam was merely stating the religion’s point of view on a question put to him. This question was: Is homosexuality allowed in the religion?”. After receiving the prefecture’s notice, the association claimed to have suspended the imam.Le Courrier Picard
This short excerpt is about the question to Imam Islem if a baby can wear pyjamas “with little stars”. His answer: “If they are five-pointed stars, as they are in Morocco, then no worries …”.
The laying of the foundation stone of this mosque took place on September 15, 2014 and was ” welcomed with emotion by a large part of the Muslim community of Beauvais, as well as the senator and mayor, “Les Républicains” Caroline Cayeux, deputies and representatives of the prefect, as well as ambassadors of all religious confessions (…) An emotion that was expressed in each of the official speeches, in each of the reactions of a sublime audience”. Le Parisien