Angers Muslims Pray on Sidewalks as Mosque Construction Stalls for Years

Since 2014, the construction site has been on hold. The work has been carried out by a third. As a result, "the site is open to vandals and we can’t monitor it constantly," sighs Mohammed Briwa, president of the Association of Muslims of Angers (AMA) to Bondyblog.fr. "It hurts us to see our mosque like this," regrets Abdelhadi, a faithful Angevin. He was forced to lay his prayer mat a kilometer from the construction site, on the pavement to perform the Friday prayer, the salat al-Jumu’ah. "It’s not pleasant, especially with the cold," deplores Nabil.

Some worshipers prefer to stay at home. "They have lost hope," summarizes Saïd Aït Laama, the imam of Angers who has been in office for two years. "We are expected to do a huge job on education, secularism, but where? And then we have to respect secularism, so practice our religion in private, but here we are outside, we don’t have the means to respect these rules." Others come to the Friday prayer, "out of dignity," explains the Muslim dignitary. The most affected by this lack of space are the women. "Their room is too small, it can only accommodate 40 people, about 10% of all practitioners," estimates Mohammed Briwa.

The tensions that were high around the transfer of the mosque to Morocco are now conjugated in the past. "Now all the faithful agree because there is no other solution," assures Mohammed Briwa. According to the faithful of Angers, the only feasible solution today is the purchase of the new mosque by Morocco. For this, the mayor of Angers will have to give the green light. "Either we extend the current building, which would force the town hall to invest its own funds. Or we are given the freedom to find our partners," insists Mohammed Briwa. The town hall does not see it that way. It invites the AMA to find other financing than Morocco, "through donations from the faithful in particular".