Matthieu Bock and Gwladys Laffitte 7:42 p.m., October 13, 2021

A mosque accused of radicalization has just closed in Allonnes, near Le Mans, where, according to the prefecture, jihad, terrorism, violence or even Sharia are said to be advocated.

Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, therefore took the decision to close, a decision that the faithful do not understand but which could be reproduced in other places.

DECRYPTION

The Sarthe prefecture announced on Wednesday the upcoming closure of the Allonnes mosque near Le Mans, suspected of legitimizing armed jihad or terrorism during sermons to its hundreds of followers. "Two associations located in Allonnes, 'the Allonnaise Association for the Just Milieu' (AAJM) and the 'Al Qalam Association', manage a place of worship called the 'Allonnes Mosque', welcoming around 300 faithful", explains the prefecture in a press release.

Those who wanted to come to pray on Wednesday found the door closed and a sheet taped up on which was written "Mosque closed for administrative reasons".

The police indeed carried out a search Tuesday morning and it is at this time that the police officers would have informed the president of the association which manages the mosque that sermons advocating jihad would have been held in his establishment.

Six months maximum closure, initially

Precisely, the authorities decided to close the mosque because the sermons and the activities of the mosque legitimize the use of armed jihad, death as a martyr, the commission of acts of terrorism and the establishment of Sharia law.

But there is also a Koranic school which accommodates 110 children in front of whom the armed jihad was valued.

For the prefect, it is therefore also a place of indoctrination.

On the calendar side, this mosque can be closed for a maximum of six months initially.

This is what is provided for in the Law on Internal Security and the Fight against Terrorism.

Then his case will be reconsidered.

It could possibly reopen if the governance of the mosque has been renewed, for example.

A common mass with Catholics

For the faithful, it is "impossible" that these accusations are founded, refutes Mohamed, a retiree who lives in this peaceful area, like most of the faithful. "Everyone comes here to pray and that's normal. There are Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccans, Africans ... For a long time, there has been no imam, but someone who walks past. us to pray, ”he said of Karim Daoud, president of the AAJM.

This man, who therefore manages this mosque, is well known to the faithful.

He had organized a common mass with the Catholics after the Nice attack last year, and he is one of the managers of the city's football club.

The president of the AAJM did not wish to answer the questions of Europe 1. He will do so, he assured, but after consulting his lawyers. 

Other places soon to be closed?

This closure will undoubtedly not be the only one in the coming weeks.

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has announced five more to come: in Meurthe-et-Moselle, in Côte d'Or, in the Rhône or even in the Gard.

For a year, the authorities have controlled nearly 90 places of worship suspected of being radical and put "out of state to harm" a third of them.