DAR AL HARB - FRANCE: A MOSQUE IN MARSEILLES

Islamic organizations demand renegotiation of Mosque lease in France
Islamic organizations demand renegotiation of Mosque lease in France
By Sherouq Sadeqi

A leading Muslim figure in France affirmed his agreement here Thursday with a French court order to suspend the construction work on a mosque in Marseille in order to renegotiate the terms of lease within the next two months.

In a phone interview with KUNA, President of the Union of the Islamic organizations in France (UOIF) Lhaj-Thami Breze, said that he agrees with such calls, adding that he favors an accord where Muslims will not be asked to pay anything for the plot of land where the Mosque is destined to be built.

He described that courts decision as a "logical and rational one." According to Breze, the head of the municipality in Marseille will work on a new method that would not violate the French law on the separation of religion and state. His comments came after the Municipality granted a plot for the Marseille Mosque at a derisory least cost but this deal was challenged by right-wing groups, led by Frances National Front.

The Marseille Administrative Court earlier this week overturned the Municipality granting of the lease to Muslims after a court case by the far-right groups who accused the city of granting a veiled subsidy for the Mosques construction, which would be a violation of the French 1905 law on separation of church and state.

"The court is not against building a Mosque," the Muslim official said. "It is just about the 1905 law." Marseille City Hall reached a decision in July 2006 to allocate a plot of land for the construction of the Great Mosque in the city based on a 99-year lease for 300 euros per year but those terms will now be revised and the project is likely to be delayed.

The plan to build the Mosque first started in 1937 but was suspended due to opposition from the locals in Marseille, which is the second largest French city with a Muslim community estimated at 250,000 and only 62 prayer halls that hold a capacity of about 6,200 people.

The city has agreed to provide an 8,000 square meter area for the Mosque project that is estimated to cost over eight million euros, but the funds have not been raised yet must come from private and foreign contributions and donations, which will be closely monitored.

The number of Muslims in France is estimated at six million, making up 10 percent of the population with only 1,535 mosques in the country although the majority of them were not built for that purpose and many are converted, insalubrious buildings. The ratio for the number of Mosques per capital of Muslims is very low but authorities have promised to do more to improve the situation, in addition to tackling the shortage of qualified Imams, the shortage of burial space for Muslims and the need for other facilities.

Muslims in France regularly complain that they have insufficient resources like mosques, schools and graveyards.


Pertinent Links:

1) Islamic organizations demand renegotiation of Mosque lease in France