France Closes A Mosque in Allonnes
Alleging that the mosque had been defending extremist thoughts, the government on Monday announced a six-month closure of the center in northwest France, Anadolu News Agency reported.
In a statement, Sarthe governor said that the mosque had the capacity to host 300 worshippers.
The statement claims that officials of the mosque had been planning to conduct terrorist attacks in France and the closure had come to prevent such alleged terrorist attacks.
Actions for closing the mosque had started since October 13 upon the order of Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior of France.
Earlier reports indicate that the French government had shut down nearly 30 mosques in less than a year.
Amid ongoing drive against Muslims and their worship places, France has shut down one-third of 89 inspected mosques since November 2020, according to Anadolu.
In August, France’s highest constitutional authority approved a controversial “anti-separatism” law that has been criticized for singling out Muslims, striking down just two of its articles. The bill was passed by the National Assembly in July, despite strong opposition from both rightist and leftist lawmakers.
The law allows officials to intervene in mosques and associations responsible for their administration, as well as control the finances of Muslim-affiliated associations and NGOs.
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