France shuts down another mosque for 'condoning violent jihad'
Photo: Google Street View
A mosque in the eastern suburbs of Paris was ordered closed on Tuesday because authorities deemed it "a threat to security".
The mosque, located in Torcy in the Seine-et-Marne department, was deemed by authorities to be "a threat to public order".
Interior Minister Matthias Fekl said the mosque had "become a place where radical ideology was advocated".
"Some of the preaching was openly hostile to France's laws and was
inciting hate to other religious communities, primarily Shia Muslims and
Jews."
He added that there was a risk of "a breeding ground that threatened security and public order" in France.
In the official police order for closure, Imams were said to have
"legitimized armed jihad" over the past two years, "calling on members
to pray for jihadists to destroy the enemies of Islam in France and
around the world".
It is understood that around 500 Muslims would attend the call to prayer every Friday.
The mosque's closure comes after authorities shut down another mosque in France last week, this time on the south coast.
It was also suspected of promoting a radical form of Islam after a
police raid had uncovered leaflets considered to be containing hate
speech.
Since the Paris attacks in 2015 the French government has been under pressure to take a hard line against radical preachers.
Authorities are making use of special powers as part of an official
state of emergency in place since the November 13th attacks, and have
been quick to close any kind of premises making calls for violence or
glorifying terrorism.
Last November the government revealed it had closed four mosques in the Paris region that were suspected of promoting a violent form of Islam.
One of the mosques was the Al-Islah mosque in Villiers-sur-Marne
where authorities discovered a hidden Islamic school in the summer.
It was known to intelligence services because it was frequented by 12 individuals convicted of trying to travel to Syria to wage jihad.
It was known to intelligence services because it was frequented by 12 individuals convicted of trying to travel to Syria to wage jihad.
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