Following the temporary withdrawal of Imam Ismail, the main preacher of the Bleuets mosque in Marseille, the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters announced on Tuesday 10 September the suspension of its procedure to close the place of worship, initiated since ” about [de l’imam français] “legitimize violence”.
The prefect, Pierre-Edouard Colliex, “We celebrate the retirement of the chief imam” and the removal of posts that “Violence legitimized on social media” and therefore “suspends the issuance of the order to close the mosque since it meets state requirements”the prefecture explained in a press release.
“However, the State services will remain extremely vigilant in the fulfilment of these commitments over time and will be vigilant in ensuring that no word or action deviates from respect for republican principles.”the police headquarters insists.
The prefect had given a five-day ultimatum to the mosque to “permanently separated from Mr. Bendjilali”in a letter dated 4 September, a copy of which was obtained by Agence France-Presse.
“Corrective measures”
Withdrawal ” temporary “ The imam’s resignation, announced on Monday evening during a press conference at the mosque, located in the deprived areas of northern Marseille, would have been enough. Surrounded by two lawyers, Imam Ismail, whose real name is Smaïn Bendjilali, announced his decision to “I’m temporarily retiring, time to breathe a little, to return to my studies [et] approve the university diploma on secularism.” “Once I have completed this diploma, we will see how it goes”added the man who has been the mosque’s main preacher since 2010. “I’m going through a family drama”The imam added, deeply moved, referring to the attempted narco-murder (a contraction of the words “drug trafficking” and “homicide”) perpetrated against his son at the end of August.
This mosque, which attracts hundreds of worshippers every Friday, has been the subject of a closure procedure since August 20, initiated by the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture, at the request of the resigned Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin.
On September 2, mosque officials met with state representatives and proposed “corrective measures”such as the removal of certain online posts. The imam has since deleted all of his tweets about X, except for a few related to this procedure.
At the same time, the prefect had taken legal action under Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the imam will be tried on 3 October for glorifying terrorism, in connection with publications related to the situation in the Gaza Strip.
