Dissolution of the association managing the Chanteloup mosque in Aulnay-sous-Bois

The Council of Ministers pronounced on Wednesday the dissolution of the association managing the Chanteloup mosque in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), which had been closed in the heart of summer, accused by the State of having legitimized “acts of terrorism” and praised “armed jihad”. This administrative dissolution of the Aulnay Sud Cultural Association was proposed by the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez.

This association had already seen its assets frozen by a government decree on July 2. Then, on August 7, the administrative court of Montreuil validated the closure of the prayer room for six months. The prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis, Julien Charles, himself went to the hearing before the administrative court to justify the closure decision.

“An ultrarigorist reading of Islam”

The State representative had mentioned speakers “known for publicly legitimizing acts of terrorism and praising armed jihad” and “a discourse aimed at dehumanizing individuals who do not subscribe to a radical practice of Islam in order to legitimize and fuel violence against them”. The prefect also mentioned the attendance of the mosque by “radicalized people attracted by an ultrarigorist reading of Islam”.

The administrative court concluded that “in fact, remarks constituting provocation to violence, hatred or discrimination linked to the risk of committing acts of terrorism, to the commission of acts of terrorism or to the apology of such acts” were made, within this mosque or on social networks, by people in charge of worship who officiate there.

The association's lawyer, Maître Rafik Chekkat, reacted in August to this closure, assuring that his clients would go “before the Council of State” to contest this decision, “in order to defend religious freedom, freedom of expression and the principle of secularism”. In a press release published in July, the association affirmed that it had always acted “in strict compliance with the laws of the Republic”: “the grievances held against our imams appear to us to be based on decontextualized and partial comments.”