Lorraine: Muslims Use Intimidatory Street Prayers to Demand Mosque and Try to Invade City Hall

It’s something that’s never been seen in the Longwy urban area. Around one hundred Muslim demonstrators yesterday tried to use force to make themselves heard by mayor Edouard Jacque. The demonstration had not been declared. In response to an appeal by the Muslim community of the basin of Longwy, supported by Acmal (Muslim Cultural Association of the conurbation of Longwy), the Muslims first broadcast their Ramadan prayers with lots of loudspeakers beneath the windows of the city hall.

Tired of having awaited the arrival of the mayor for over an hour when it was 32° in the shade, the crowd then tried to penetrate into the interior of the premises. Only a delegation of about ten people managed to gain entry while several police vehicles took up position behind the buildings.

The demonstrators demanded that the mayor take a position in favour of their project to construct a new mosque in Gouraincourt across an area of 1985 m². Currently, in this period of Ramadan, the faithful are praying in the street till 1 o’clock in the morning, in the absence of appropriate structures. Edouard Jacque’s recent refusal, dated 17 June, was based on the safety of the worshippers which would be called into question by a passage at the level of the railway adjacent to the future car park with 242 places. Bâtiments de France [tn: architectural heritage agency] also criticised the excessively garish colours of the mosque because it would be located within the perimeter of the ramparts of Vauban [tn: famous builder of fortifications under Louis XIV] which is classified as protected by UNESCO.

Edouard Jacque invited the community to review his copy, regretting the fact that this surprise demonstration “helped only the Front National”.