Mosques are being closed one after the other in France after Emmanuel Macron announced a fight against Islamist separatism last fall. Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin said in an interview with the daily newspaper Le Figaro: since last November, the authorities have conducted investigations in 89 mosques, one-third of them have already been closed, according to Magyar Nemzet.
In the near future, six will meet a similar fate, because there is also a risk of radicalization in these mosques. The measure also affects organizations, so far five groups have had to cease their activities because they promote political Islam.
The French Minister of the Interior announced that the activities of four more organizations will be suspended in October, and the bank accounts of 205 associations have already been frozen, and two imams have been banned from the country. In Strasbourg, the construction of the Eyüp Sultan Mosque of the Turkish-linked İslam Toplumu Milli Görüş organization was stopped, even though they had permission from the municipality.
The French Constitutional Council adopted the law "against separatism" on August 13. According to the regulations, from now on in France all associations enjoying state support must commit themselves to "the values and principles of the republic". Foreign donations over ten thousand euros must be reported to the tax office. The French state is also tightening controls on religious foundation schools, as well as measures against polygamy and forced marriage. It makes kindergarten compulsory for all children from the age of three.
Darmanin said: before the anti-radicalization law came into force, the French police investigated about 24,000 places related to the Islamic religion across the country, and about 650 of them were deemed extremist and closed. According to 2016 data, there were 2,500 mosques in France.
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