Statements about polygamy, justified jihad or marital rape… The Bleuets mosque in Marseille, France, where the Salafist Imam Ismaïl preaches, is facing closure proceedings

A member of the Les Bleuets association, whose president is Sébastien Yeranotsian, was personally handed a letter on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, informing him of a procedure for the administrative closure of the Les Bleuets mosque in the northern districts of Marseille. The reason for this was the radical practice of Islam, a fundamentalist view of the religion that legitimises jihad, the introduction of Sharia law and the use of violence preached by Imam Smaïn Bendjilali, also known as Imam Ismail.

The reason for this is the fundamentalist view of religion preached by Imam Smaïn Bendjilali, ‘which legitimises jihad, the introduction of Sharia law and the use of violence’, says police prefect Pierre-Edouard Colliex. (…)

Another red line that Imam Ismail has crossed concerns discriminatory statements against women. ‘This is one of the focal points of his speech, in which he recognises the right to polygamy and legitimises marital rape, as he points out that the woman does not have the right to deny herself to the man, or, for example, he considers the appearance of women to be the devil’s poison arrow. A whole rhetoric of the devilish woman in utterances circulated to a young audience …’, the prefect of police of the Bouches-du-Rhône department expressed his concern. On Monday, the imam’s home and the premises of the mosque were ‘visited’. During the searches, written, audio and video documents were seized, which underpins the initiation of proceedings to close the Bleuets mosque. (…) La Provence

About 300 to 350 worshippers visit them on Friday, according to the authorities, who emphasise, however, that the strong presence of this imam on social networks gives him a larger audience. (…) BFMTV

Marseille : propos sur la polygamie, légitime le djihad ou encore le viol conjugal… La mosquée des Bleuets, où prêche l’imam salafiste Ismaïl, visée par une procédure de fermeture administrative – Fdesouche