Monday, April 6, 2015

French Muslims Want to Double No. of Mosques; France Would Double Its 2200 Mosques By 2017

A call by Muslim leaders for the number of mosques in France to be doubled has aggravated community tensions barely three months after the Charlie Hebdo killings, the Telegraph (British) website reports today (April 6, 2015).

"We have 2,200 mosques and we need double that within two years," the Rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, told applauding French Muslims at a conference.

Many Muslims believe local authorities in France block applications to open or build mosques and prayer-rooms, leading to overcrowding and protests over prayers held in the streets.

The demand for more mosques is unlikely to find favor with the French government, still struggling to work out common strategies with Muslim leaders to combat radicalization in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, and concerned about a rise in support for the far-Right Front National.

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