French Prefecture Blocks Islamophobia Workshop at Val-d’Oise Mosque, Citing Venue Concerns

This refusal by the Prefecture to validate the holding of this conference on the theme, "How to react to Islamophobia?", is rather an invitation to find another venue for this much-anticipated event by Muslim worshippers of the Val-d’Oise mosque.

Being the target of all criticism and all eyes on television and in public, the Muslims of Vauréal point to the pressure in the media and in the public space.

According to Le Parisien, the worshippers, interviewed as they left the mosque, all express the desire to discuss Islamophobia. "I would have been interested to know how we can react because I have already been confronted with it in my high school," says a 16-year-old young man. "We almost came to blows but it’s no use."

According to the same source, some worshippers mention the need to know their rights as citizens to manage everyday situations. Others, on the other hand, want advice on how to defend themselves without aggression against an Islamophobic act.

Latest news, the new date of the conference, which will have to be held in a room outside the mosque, is not yet known. The Secretary General of the ACFMV indicates his intention to "make an appointment with the mayor and the prefect to do things in the right way" and to avoid this kind of misunderstanding in the future, the same source specifies.