PARIS (AFP) – French authorities have shut down around 20 mosques and prayer halls considered
to be preaching radical Islam since December, Interior Minister Bernard
Cazeneuve said on Monday.
”There is no place … in France for those who
call for and incite hatred in prayer halls or in mosques, and who don’t
respect certain republican principles, notably equality between men and
women,” the minister said.
“That is why I took the decision a few months ago to close mosques
through the state of emergency, legal measures or administrative
measures. About 20 mosques have been closed, and there will be others.”
Cazeneuve confirmed that authorities were working on a French foundation
for Islam which would guarantee total transparency in financing of
mosques “with rigorous respect for secular principles.”