Rabat - Jean-Pierre Legrand, leader of the National Front in Roubaix, France, has proposed to "entrust the keys of a disused church to Muslims" who suddenly find themselves without a mosque.
Legrand’s proposal comes after a municipal decree issued early November that shut down the Da'wa mosque, located in the neighborhood of Alma, which every Friday holds up to 800 worshippers. "Personally, it touches me. This is simply nonsense. We have still enough abandoned buildings in Roubaix,” said Legrand.
After the closure of the mosque, the leader of the National Front proposed to allow Muslims to use the church of Notre-Dame for their prayers. The only requirements are that the Muslim community itself finance the renovation and retain the exterior design of the church.
The decision to close the mosque was "not a decision we take lightly. But our duty is to make everyone safe,” Max Pick-André, the first deputy mayor of Roubaix, said cautiously, because he knows that the decision to close a Muslim place of worship is very sensitive in the city with six mosques.
Edited by Elisabeth Myers
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